Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,747 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,662 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.23% of Sandy Spring Bancorp worth $3,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $370,000. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 20,119 shares of the bank’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,296.9% during the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,572 shares of the bank’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 11,672 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 22,582 shares of the bank’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 140.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

SASR opened at $33.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.15 and a 200-day moving average of $33.16. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.49 and a beta of 0.97. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.52 and a 1-year high of $39.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 2.65%. Equities analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 302.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.25.

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.