Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report released on Sunday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.9 %

SASR opened at $29.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.49. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52 week low of $19.52 and a 52 week high of $39.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a PE ratio of 65.29 and a beta of 0.96.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,853,807 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,492,000 after buying an additional 582,309 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,116,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,622,000 after acquiring an additional 90,825 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,654,000 after acquiring an additional 35,271 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 937,531 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,604,000 after acquiring an additional 129,591 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 893,547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,121,000 after acquiring an additional 6,815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

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.