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

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 2.9 %

SASR stock opened at $28.96 on Friday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 12 month low of $19.52 and a 12 month high of $39.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.57.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 302.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SASR. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $21,212,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,235,000 after acquiring an additional 615,591 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 267.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 665,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,437,000 after acquiring an additional 484,514 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2,164.4% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 468,891 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,709,000 after acquiring an additional 448,184 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $13,492,000. 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.