Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $23.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ SASR opened at $24.36 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.27 and a 1-year high of $27.90.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $184.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.45 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 408.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 405,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,697,000 after buying an additional 326,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $8,423,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 52.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 269,547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 92,175 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,432,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,709,000 after purchasing an additional 65,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 14.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 434,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,309,000 after purchasing an additional 53,655 shares during the last quarter. 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.