Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 231.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,748 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the first quarter worth $98,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $105,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $117,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $122,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 59.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,561 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. 66.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SASR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of SASR stock opened at $33.41 on Wednesday. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.52 and a 12 month high of $34.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.95 and its 200 day moving average is $27.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 11.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 71.58%.

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.