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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $32.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.97 and a 200 day moving average of $31.67. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a one year low of $19.52 and a one year high of $39.55.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 11.54%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 71.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 96.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 70,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,215,000 after purchasing an additional 34,735 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,235,000 after buying an additional 615,591 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,654,000 after acquiring an additional 35,271 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 36.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,759,000 after acquiring an additional 32,223 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 17.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 819,475 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,707,000 after purchasing an additional 121,574 shares in the last quarter. 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.