Sandy Spring Bancorp’s (SASR) “Equal Weight” Rating Reiterated at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Sandy Spring Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $23.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $21.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $21.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.27 and a 1-year high of $27.90. The company has a market cap of $967.05 million, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 12.74%. The company had revenue of $184.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SASR. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 30.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $245,000. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 128,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 47,000 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is 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.