Hantz Financial Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 41.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,582 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 6,641 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 198.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 42,290 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 23,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 368.2% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,419 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 50,659 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,184 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,442,000 after buying an additional 2,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 43,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,065,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of SASR stock opened at $33.83 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 75.18 and a beta of 0.98. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $19.52 and a 52-week high of $39.55.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 302.23%.

Sandy Spring Bancorp 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.