Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Short Interest Down 14.6% in December

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 896,200 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the December 15th total of 1,050,000 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 424,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:SASR traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.87. 156,464 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 211,445. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.98. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $35.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.32.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its 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). The business had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 5.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued 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 4.02%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 71.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Saturday, January 11th. They set 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,470,621 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,182,000 after purchasing an additional 108,703 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,235,000 after buying an additional 615,591 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $33,654,000 after acquiring an additional 35,271 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 13.4% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,025,227 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,161,000 after buying an additional 120,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 819,475 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,707,000 after acquiring an additional 121,574 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.