Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Purchased by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 133.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 365,391 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 209,000 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bancorp accounts for about 2.2% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $12,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $170,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 66.2% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 3,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $33.65 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.20. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.78 and a beta of 0.97.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 302.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.