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

Investment analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The brokerage set a "sell" rating on the bank's stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $29.29. The stock had a trading volume of 104,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.08 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.52 and a 1-year high of $39.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $32.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.42.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 826.3% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.