Analysts at Bankinter have raised their price target for Banco Santander to 12.35 euros per share, from 10.25 euros, following the release of the bank’s recent results and the announcement of its acquisition of Webster Bank. The firm reiterated its ‘buy’ recommendation for the bank, led by Ana Botín.
The revised valuation suggests a potential upside of 16.8% for the stock, which has risen 127.5% from its 52-week low of 4.645 euros set in April of last year. Shares reached a historical high of 11.26 euros on February 3, 2026, just before the results were announced, but have since corrected by over 6%. The acquisition and strong performance come as Santander continues to expand its presence in key markets.
Despite the recent correction, Bankinter analyst Rafael Alonso remains confident in the bank’s value, noting that the results demonstrate Santander “maintains a high growth rate” – a 17.0% increase in earnings per share. The bank also showed improvements in profitability/RoTE (16.3% versus 15.5% in 2024), strong credit quality (non-performing loan ratio of approximately 2.91%), and a capital surplus (CET1 ratio of 13.5%, up 0.7 percentage points from its 12%/13% target).
Management also issued a positive outlook for 2026/2028, highlighting projected revenue growth, cost reductions, and a net attributable profit exceeding 14.100 billion euros in 2026. The CET1 capital ratio is expected to be around 12.8%/13.0% with a return on equity exceeding 20.0% in 2028.
Banco Santander is currently experiencing a positive momentum in its results, with a 17.0% increase in earnings per share, and benefits from a diversified business across geographies and sectors, coupled with an attractive shareholder remuneration plan, according to Alonso. He estimates a dividend and share buyback yield exceeding 8.5%.
The $12.2 billion acquisition of Webster Bank is not only strategically sound but also “improves the risk profile with an engaging return on investment (ROI of around 15%).” Alonso explained that the deal makes “industrial sense due to scale improvements (800 million dollars in synergies) and the acquisition multiples are attractive (2028e PER of around 10.0x & 6.8x post-synergies with a 2028e RoTE of around 18.0%).”
