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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report issued on Monday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 1.3 %

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $28.68 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.38. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.52 and a 1-year high of $39.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid 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 4.74%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 302.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $228,000. 66.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.