The upbeat corporate earnings season so far is driving bullish trends in the U.S. stock market. The benchmark indices have delivered a stellar performance this week. The…
S&P 500 notched its seventh straight win on October 21, marking a record close at 4,549.78. The index also hit a 4,551.44 intraday high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to its all-time high on October 20, although it retreated slightly to close at 35,603.08 in its last trading session.
Solid corporate earnings reports have eased investors’ worries about inflation and a possible decline in Federal Reserve’s bond-buying. “There are no signs of widespread erosions of margins at the moment,” said Jim Reid, head of thematic research at Deutsche Bank. Moreover, Jobless claims declined to a new pandemic low of 290,000 for the week ended October 16.
Given the bullish trends, we think quality stocks, Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN – Get Rating) and VEON Ltd. (VEON – Get Rating), which are trading under $5, could be solid bets now.
Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN – Get Rating)
SAN is a Spain-based retail and commercial bank. It provides various banking products and services to individuals, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and large companies worldwide.
On October 20, SAN announced the extension of its tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. (S.C.) for $41.50 per share. S.C. is a finance company focused on vehicle finance, third-party servicing, and delivering superior service to more than 3.1 million customers across the entire credit spectrum. If the acquisition is successful, SAN should be able to enhance its credit services and take advantage of S.C.’s customer base while strengthening its position in the global financial sector.
SAN’s total income increased 1.9% year-over-year to €22.70 billion ($26.43 billion) in its fiscal six months, ended June 30. Its net operating income grew 6.5% from its year-ago value to €12.32 billion ($14.34 billion). Furthermore, its profit before tax and the profit attributable to the parent improved substantially from their negative year-ago values to €6.91 billion ($8.04 billion) and €3.68 billion ($4.28 billion), respectively.
The Street expects SAN’s revenues to increase 3.6% year-over-year to $52.95 billion in the next year. The company’s EPS is expected to increase 9.3% from the current year to $0.47 in the next year. And its EPS is expected to increase 194.7% per annum over the next five years.
Over the past year, the stock has…
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