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

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ SASR opened at $31.67 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.98. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.52 and a 1-year high of $39.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The firm had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SASR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 34,735 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,235,000 after purchasing an additional 615,591 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,654,000 after purchasing an additional 35,271 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 36.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 32,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 819,475 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,707,000 after purchasing an additional 121,574 shares in the last quarter. 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.