Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.12 Per Share

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) declared a semi-annual dividend on Monday, March 10th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.1152 per share by the bank on Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This is a 44.0% increase from Banco Santander’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.08.

Banco Santander has increased its dividend by an average of 55.6% per year over the last three years. Banco Santander has a payout ratio of 22.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Banco Santander to earn $0.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.22 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.9%.

Banco Santander Price Performance

Shares of SAN stock traded down $0.37 on Monday, reaching $6.40. 5,066,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,065,612. Banco Santander has a 1 year low of $4.27 and a 1 year high of $6.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.83, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 2.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $5.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.05. The company has a market cap of $96.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.09.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.21. Banco Santander had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 15.88%. Equities research analysts forecast that Banco Santander will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Banco Santander from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Banco Santander from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Banco Santander from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.