5 Best European Bank Stocks to Invest In

4. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 12

Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is a Spanish global banking group that offers retail and commercial banking services, insurance, and asset management. The company has a long-standing history of stability and profitability and is well-positioned to take advantage of the long-term growth opportunities in its core markets. According to the company’s balance sheet, Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) has a trailing twelve-month operating margin of 38.32% and an ROE of 11.17%. The stock is trading at a PE ratio of 5.23 and is awarding investors with a forward dividend yield of 3.84%, as of December 1. The stock ranks among the best European bank stocks to buy now.

On September 27, Citi analyst Marta Romero upgraded Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) to Buy from Neutral and raised her price target to EUR 3.50 from EUR 3.20. On October 10, Credit Suisse analyst Pamela Zuluaga raised her price target on Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) to EUR 4.10 from EUR 4 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares.

At the end of Q3 2022, 12 hedge funds held stakes in Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) worth $398.9 million. Of those, Ariel Investments was the top investor in the company and disclosed a position worth $14.39 million.