Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $7.10, but opened at $6.83. Banco Santander shares last traded at $6.85, with a volume of 661,845 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.18.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.1152 per share. This is an increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.4%. Banco Santander’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Banco Santander by 2,226.3% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,839 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. WealthCollab LLC increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 7,801 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Banco Santander in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.19% of the company’s stock.

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.