Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Earns Sell Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

SASR stock opened at $33.76 on Thursday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a one year low of $19.52 and a one year high of $39.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 71.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SASR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $105,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the second quarter worth $117,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth $170,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth $217,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.