Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report released on Saturday. The firm issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

SASR opened at $29.82 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.54. 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 cap of $1.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.27 and a beta of 0.96. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 12-month low of $19.52 and a 12-month high of $39.55.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 2.65%. Research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 302.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,853,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,492,000 after acquiring an additional 582,309 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,116,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,622,000 after acquiring an additional 90,825 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,654,000 after acquiring an additional 35,271 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,604,000 after acquiring an additional 129,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 893,547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,815 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.