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

Shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $5.59, but opened at $5.75. Banco Santander shares last traded at $5.77, with a volume of 449,410 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Banco Santander Trading Up 4.0 %

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 fifty day simple moving average of $4.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.84. The company has a market capitalization of $92.03 billion, a PE ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.12.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. Analysts predict that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Banco Santander by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,893,727 shares of the bank’s stock worth $106,558,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,236 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $41,501,000 after purchasing an additional 4,689,461 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 143,585,152 shares of the bank’s stock worth $732,284,000 after buying an additional 2,011,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 55.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,301,711 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,839,000 after buying an additional 1,178,449 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Banco Santander

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.