Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Acquired by Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.

Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 133.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,391 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 209,000 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bancorp makes up approximately 2.2% of Stieven Capital Advisors L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. owned 0.81% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $12,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $170,000. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $217,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 27.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,952 shares of the bank’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 3,168 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of SASR stock opened at $33.65 on Friday. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.78 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.99 and a 200 day moving average of $33.20. 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 posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 302.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

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.