Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Reaches New 52-Week High at $32.42

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $32.42 and last traded at $32.42, with a volume of 38481 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SASR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.96.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $184.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 6.41%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 313,534 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 43,987 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 60,850 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,240,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,033,000 after buying an additional 52,454 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% in the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,690,000 after buying an additional 156,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 580,628 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,816,000 after buying an additional 40,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.