Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 939,300 shares, a decline of 20.4% from the September 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 325,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SASR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.00. 194,583 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 302,946. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.25. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $19.27 and a fifty-two week high of $34.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 313,534 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,541,000 after acquiring an additional 43,987 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 50,876 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 19.0% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,450 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 2,464 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

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.