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

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research report released on Thursday. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of SASR stock opened at $32.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.31 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.29.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 302.23%.

Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 70,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,215,000 after purchasing an additional 34,735 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,345,000 after purchasing an additional 75,596 shares in the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,296.9% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 11,672 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $33,654,000 after purchasing an additional 35,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,906,000. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.