Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.14, but opened at $6.38. Banco Santander shares last traded at $6.33, with a volume of 1,630,966 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SAN. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $5.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.38 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Banco Santander during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 5,588 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in Banco Santander by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. 9.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Banco Santander Company Profile

Banco Santander, SA provides various financial services worldwide. The company operates through Retail Banking, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management & Insurance, and PagoNxt segments. It offers demand and time deposits, mutual funds, and current and savings accounts; mortgages, consumer finance, loans, and various financing solutions; and project finance, debt capital markets, global transaction banking, and corporate finance services.