StockNews.com Downgrades Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) to Sell

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ SASR opened at $21.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.92. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52-week low of $19.27 and a 52-week high of $27.90. The company has a market cap of $967.05 million, a PE ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.94.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $184.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth $209,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 52.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 269,547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,776,000 after buying an additional 92,175 shares during the period. Teton Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% during the third quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 34,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,432,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,709,000 after buying an additional 65,841 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 9.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 540,254 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,578,000 after buying an additional 48,165 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.