Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Now Covered by StockNews.com

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

SASR opened at $32.96 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.79. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52-week low of $19.52 and a 52-week high of $39.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.98.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 71.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SASR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $117,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $170,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $217,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $217,000. 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.