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 issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of SASR opened at $33.77 on Wednesday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 75.05 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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%. Research analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,853,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,492,000 after purchasing an additional 582,309 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,654,000 after purchasing an additional 35,271 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,025,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,161,000 after purchasing an additional 120,793 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,531 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,604,000 after purchasing an additional 129,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 893,547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,121,000 after purchasing an additional 6,815 shares during the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.