Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report issued on Monday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $28.68 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.73 and a beta of 0.96. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.38.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.74%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 302.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 96.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 70,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,215,000 after buying an additional 34,735 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,345,000 after buying an additional 75,596 shares in the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,296.9% in the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 11,672 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,654,000 after buying an additional 35,271 shares during the period. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $2,989,000. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Company Profile

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.