StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR)

StockNews.com began 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.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SASR opened at $37.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 0.94. 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’s fifty day moving average is $33.09 and its 200-day moving average is $28.49. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52 week low of $19.52 and a 52 week high of $39.06.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.06). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 11.54%. The firm had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 71.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 35,271 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,025,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,161,000 after buying an additional 120,793 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 acquiring an additional 121,574 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,345,000 after acquiring an additional 75,596 shares during the last quarter. 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.