Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to Moderate Buy Rating

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on SAN. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Stock Up 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE SAN opened at $6.34 on Monday. Banco Santander has a 12-month low of $4.07 and a 12-month high of $6.39. The stock has a market cap of $95.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.12. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $5.11 and a 200 day moving average of $4.95.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 predict that Banco Santander will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011,150 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,953,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059,449 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,775,261 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,413,685 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Banco Santander by 106.3% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 9,101,145 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,501,000 after acquiring an additional 4,689,461 shares during the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently 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.