Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research report report published on Saturday. The brokerage issued a sell rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ SASR opened at $28.96 on Friday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52 week low of $19.52 and a 52 week high of $39.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 64.36 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. As a group, research analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 302.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,212,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,235,000 after acquiring an additional 615,591 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 267.6% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 665,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,437,000 after acquiring an additional 484,514 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2,164.4% during the third quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 468,891 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,709,000 after purchasing an additional 448,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $13,492,000. 66.90% of the stock is currently 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.