StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR)

Stock analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

SASR opened at $34.34 on Tuesday. 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 $34.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.03. 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 $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 76.31 and a beta of 0.97.

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 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,235,000 after acquiring an additional 615,591 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,072,619 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,654,000 after purchasing an additional 35,271 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP lifted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 13.4% in the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,025,227 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,161,000 after purchasing an additional 120,793 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 17.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 819,475 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,707,000 after purchasing an additional 121,574 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 75,596 shares during the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.