Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ SASR opened at $38.11 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.60. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 12-month low of $19.52 and a 12-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.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $105,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $117,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 59.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,561 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $144,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.