Associated Banc Corp Invests $249,000 in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,941 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $16,927,000 after acquiring an additional 641,402 shares during the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $4,778,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $4,906,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% in the 2nd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,690,000 after buying an additional 156,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 775,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,885,000 after buying an additional 120,996 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Sunday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ SASR opened at $37.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.19. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.52 and a 1 year high of $39.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.58%.

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.