Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SASR opened at $29.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.42. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 12-month low of $19.52 and a 12-month high of $39.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.82 and a beta of 0.96.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 302.22%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SASR. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $314,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 10.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 807,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,345,000 after buying an additional 75,596 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 679,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,329,000 after buying an additional 11,117 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,209 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the period. Finally, Associated Banc Corp purchased a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $249,000. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

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.