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

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

SASR opened at $29.40 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.33 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.48. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52-week low of $19.52 and a 52-week high of $39.55.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 302.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SASR. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,212,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,235,000 after purchasing an additional 615,591 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 267.6% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 665,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,437,000 after purchasing an additional 484,514 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2,164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 468,891 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 448,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $13,492,000. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

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.