Comparing Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) & Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA)

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) and Ballston Spa Bancorp (OTCMKTS:BSPA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

66.9% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.4% of Ballston Spa Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Sandy Spring Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sandy Spring Bancorp	0	4	0	0	2.00
Ballston Spa Bancorp	0	0	0	0	N/A

Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $23.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.30%. Given Sandy Spring Bancorp’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Sandy Spring Bancorp is more favorable than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sandy Spring Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sandy Spring Bancorp	$419.34 million	2.31	$122.84 million	$2.73	7.88
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Sandy Spring Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Ballston Spa Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Sandy Spring Bancorp and Ballston Spa Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sandy Spring Bancorp	17.43%	8.66%	0.95%
Ballston Spa Bancorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Sandy Spring Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ballston Spa Bancorp has a beta of -0.32, meaning that its stock price is 132% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Sandy Spring Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Ballston Spa Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays out 49.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Sandy Spring Bancorp beats Ballston Spa Bancorp on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Its loan products include commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and business loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines, installment loans, and personal lines of credit. The company provides investment management, financial planning, and wealth management services. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Olney, Maryland.

About Ballston Spa Bancorp

Ballston Spa Bancorp, Inc. operates as a holding company for Ballston Spa National Bank that provides a range of banking, financing, fiduciary, brokerage, and other financial services to corporate, municipal, and individual customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, health savings, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit; loan products, such as mortgage and home equity, construction, auto, boat, RV, personal, small business, term, and commercial real estate loans, as well as lines of credit and government programs; and debits and credit cards. It also provides personal investment services, which include annuities, college savings plans, mutual funds, and life and long term care insurance products; investment and asset management; trusteeship; estate settlement; custodial; and wealth management services. In addition, the company offers treasury management services; and merchant and payment processing services, as well as online and mobile banking, eStatements, and mobile wallets. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Ballston Spa, New York.