Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $33.77, but opened at $32.98. Sandy Spring Bancorp shares last traded at $33.89, with a volume of 21,153 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.98 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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 return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 2.65%. Research analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 302.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 826.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $204,000. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.