StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR)

Analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report released on Thursday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of SASR opened at $33.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.96. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $19.52 and a fifty-two week high of $39.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.29.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The company had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $105,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $117,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $170,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

About Sandy Spring Bancorp

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Sandy Spring Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, mortgage, private banking, and trust services to individuals and businesses in the United States. It offers financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products.