StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR)

Stock analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report issued on Monday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $37.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95 and a beta of 0.96. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.52 and a 1-year 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.70.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 148,921 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,628,000 after purchasing an additional 60,850 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 432.5% during the second quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 192,533 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,690,000 after buying an additional 156,377 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,528,000 after purchasing an additional 25,546 shares in the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $4,778,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,345,000 after buying an additional 75,596 shares during the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently 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.