Santander Stock: 16% Potential & Attractive Dividends – Bankinter Upgrade

February 13, 2026 Priya Shah – Business Editor Business

Banco Santander shares rose sharply Friday following an upgraded price target from Bankinter analysts, who cited confidence in the Spanish bank’s recent financial results and its $12.2 billion acquisition of Webster Financial Corp. Bankinter increased its price target to €12.35 per share, up from €10.25, representing a potential 16.8% increase.

The revised valuation reflects a 127.5% increase in Santander’s share price since hitting a 52-week low of €4.645 in April of last year. Shares reached a historical high of €11.26 on February 3, before correcting by over 6%, a move Bankinter analyst Rafael Alonso views as temporary.

Alonso highlighted Santander’s “elevated growth rate” – a 17.0% increase in earnings per share – alongside improvements in profitability, with a Return on Equity (RoTE) of 16.3% compared to 15.5% in 2024. He also pointed to strong credit quality, with non-performing loans around 2.91%, and a capital surplus, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 13.5%.

The bank’s management team issued a “positive” guidance for 2026/2028, forecasting revenue growth, cost reductions, and attributable profit exceeding €14.1 billion in 2026. The CET1 ratio is projected to reach approximately 12.8%/13.0% with RoTE exceeding 20.0% by 2028.

“Santander is enjoying a good moment in results (+17.0% in EPS) with a business diversified by geographies and businesses and an attractive remuneration plan for shareholders,” Alonso stated, estimating a dividend and share buyback yield exceeding 8.5%.

The acquisition of Webster Bank, announced earlier this month, is considered both strategically sound and financially beneficial. Santander expects to realize $800 million in synergies from the deal. According to Bankinter’s analysis, the acquisition multiples are attractive, with a 2028 price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 10.0x, falling to 6.8x post-synergies, and an anticipated RoTE of around 18.0% in 2028.

The deal, which would create a top-ten retail and commercial bank in the U.S. By assets, represents the largest-ever takeover of a U.S. Lender by a continental European bank, according to Bloomberg data. Ana Botín, Banco Santander’s executive chair, has publicly stated her ambition to build Santander into a leading U.S. Bank.