Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 148,097 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 120,101 shares.The stock last traded at $33.29 and had previously closed at $32.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Friday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $35.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.79.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 384,726 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,372,000 after acquiring an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 9.8% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 74,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,325 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,199.7% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 694,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,927,000 after buying an additional 641,402 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% in the 2nd 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 period. 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.