Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) versus Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) Critical Comparison

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) and Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Sandy Spring Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sandy Spring Bancorp	0	4	0	0	2.00
Ballston Spa Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $23.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.35%. Given Sandy Spring Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sandy Spring Bancorp is more favorable than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Sandy Spring Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sandy Spring Bancorp	12.74%	6.69%	0.74%
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

66.9% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.4% of Ballston Spa Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Sandy Spring Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Ballston Spa Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays out 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Sandy Spring Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ballston Spa Bancorp has a beta of -0.32, indicating that its share price is 132% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sandy Spring Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sandy Spring Bancorp	$704.60 million	1.37	$122.84 million	$2.04	10.53
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Sandy Spring Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Summary

Sandy Spring Bancorp beats Ballston Spa Bancorp on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Its loan products include commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and business loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines, installment loans, and personal lines of credit. The company provides investment management, financial planning, and wealth management services. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Olney, Maryland.

About Ballston Spa Bancorp

Ballston Spa Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Ballston Spa National Bank that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, brokerage, and other financial services to corporate, municipal, and individual customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loan products, such as mortgage and home equity, construction, auto, boat, RV, personal, small business, term, and commercial real estate loans, as well as lines of credit and government programs; and debits and credit cards. It also provides personal investment services, which include annuities, college savings plans, mutual funds, and life and long term care insurance products; investment and asset management; trusteeship; estate settlement; custodial; and wealth management services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; and merchant and payment processing services, as well as online and mobile banking, eStatements, and mobile wallets. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Ballston Spa, New York.