StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Free Report) in a research note published on Sunday morning. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank's stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ SASR traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $29.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 163,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,921. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.71 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.49.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 302.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 16,987 shares of the bank's stock valued at $573,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 20,119 shares of the bank's stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,583 shares of the bank's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,940 shares of the bank's stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,986 shares of the bank's stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company's stock.

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.