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

Analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Friday. The firm set a "sell" rating on the bank's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of SASR stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, hitting $37.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 288,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,526. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76 and a beta of 0.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $19.52 and a fifty-two week high of $38.54. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $32.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.06). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 11.54%. The business had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SASR. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.6% in the second quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 11,785 shares of the bank's stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.2% during the third quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 10,050 shares of the bank's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.4% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,065 shares of the bank's stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.6% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 43,713 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.