Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Short Interest Update

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the August 31st total of 953,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 351,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $31.15 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.46 and a 200-day moving average of $25.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1 year low of $19.27 and a 1 year high of $34.19.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $184.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $99.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 6.41%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.93 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $77,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $105,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $122,000. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.