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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SASR. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp has an average rating of Hold and a consensus 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $21.57 and a 200-day moving average of $22.96. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52 week low of $19.27 and a 52 week high of $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $966.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 0.94.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 52.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 269,547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,776,000 after purchasing an additional 92,175 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Teton Advisors Inc. now owns 34,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 9.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 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.