Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Receives $24.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the four brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SASR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of SASR opened at $21.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $961.65 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.93. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $27.90.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $184.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.45 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 6.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,542 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% during the third quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 34,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 0.3% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 163,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 30.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.4% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,297 shares of the bank’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares during the last quarter. 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.