Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 0.8 %

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $37.03 on Friday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52 week low of $19.52 and a 52 week high of $39.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 148,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 60,850 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% during the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,690,000 after purchasing an additional 156,377 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,528,000 after buying an additional 25,546 shares during the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $4,778,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,199.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 694,867 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,927,000 after buying an additional 641,402 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.