Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report released on Tuesday. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of SASR opened at $37.31 on Tuesday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52-week low of $19.52 and a 52-week high of $39.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.29.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 5.71%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 71.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 69.1% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 148,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 60,850 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised 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 lifted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,528,000 after buying an additional 25,546 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,345,000 after buying an additional 75,596 shares during the period. Finally, Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,778,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

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.