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

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $38.71 on Friday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $19.52 and a fifty-two week high of $39.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.94.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 11.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SASR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $105,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $117,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $122,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 59.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,561 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.