Investors Buy High Volume of Banco Santander Call Options (NYSE:SAN)

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 13,194 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,244% compared to the typical daily volume of 982 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander

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

Banco Santander Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of SAN stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $6.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,706,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,188,963. The company has a market cap of $104.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09. Banco Santander has a one year low of $4.27 and a one year high of $7.16. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last issued its 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 net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 11.90%. Analysts anticipate that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

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

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.