SAN August 7, 2013

SAN daily chart on August 7, 2013

Haven't updated my chart for Banco Santander recently, so here we go.

As you will know if you've been following me, I like SAN for a variety of reasons (which you may or may not agree with). I was talking up SAN several months ago, and since then it has dipped but then recovered nicely. It was a nice buying opportunity, and if you got in at the right time, you could have copped the hefty quarterly dividend. Here is my last update, you can do a label search for the others.

It is a banking play - and banks have been hot. It is a European play - and Europe seems to be coming along, though perhaps not in spectacular fashion so far. Some things just take time, and SAN is a cornerstone of European finance. It's pretty close to being too big to fail - and there's really no danger of that in any event. It also is a South American play, as a good fraction of SAN's earnings come from there. Finally, it is a dividend play, paying a very nice dividend, especially if you take the scrip shares instead of a cash payment.

My main point in this update is that, if you look at the chart above, you'll see that SAN has just crossed the 200 day moving average with authority. This is usually considered by technicians such as me to be Bullish. I don't pay too much attention to picky fundamentals (they are reflected in the chart), but my understanding is that Europe has pushed through some banking law changes that should help SAN. Also, SAN simply is recovering on its own, and it's not as if Spain is going to sink into the Atlantic. Spain will recover. It's only a matter of time - though it could be a long time, who knows.

The 8's for SAN look doable on this run, though anything is possible. Still lots of uncertainty in European markets.

This play is best for a retirement account because you get a hefty dividend which is promised to continue at least through the end of this year, with no hint so far of any cut thereafter, either. That's trickiest aspect of this play, you should do your due diligence before committing to this. SAN is a classic buy-and-hold position play, though you could also trade it if you are quick on your feet.