Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Given “Equal Weight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens reissued their equal weight rating on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $25.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SASR. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Sandy Spring Bancorp from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $21.50 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.94. The stock has a market cap of $967.50 million, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 52 week low of $19.27 and a 52 week high of $27.90.

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given 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 dividend yield of 6.33%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s payout ratio is 66.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. North Reef Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $9,319,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 408.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 405,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,697,000 after acquiring an additional 326,036 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $8,423,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 52.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 269,547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,776,000 after acquiring an additional 92,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundry Partners LLC grew its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 62.9% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 226,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,861,000 after acquiring an additional 87,576 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.