Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by The Goldman Sachs Group

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) was downgraded by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Banco Santander currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Banco Santander Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SAN opened at $5.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.85. The company has a market cap of $93.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.12. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $3.88 and a 52-week high of $5.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Banco Santander will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Banco Santander

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Banco Santander by 899.2% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 399,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,822,000 after buying an additional 359,660 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 257,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 52,337 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 82.0% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 23,567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 10,615 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 122,924 shares of the bank’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 12,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Banco Santander by 284.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 670,513 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,057,000 after purchasing an additional 496,309 shares in the last quarter. 9.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.