Stephens Reiterates Equal Weight Rating for Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR)

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $25.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $23.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $21.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.27 and a 1-year high of $27.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $967.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.94.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $184.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $97.45 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 6.69%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.33%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $115,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $150,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.