Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 148,097 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 120,101 shares.The stock last traded at $33.29 and had previously closed at $32.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.98.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.58%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $117,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $217,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth $217,000. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.