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

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SASR opened at $34.82 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $34.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.16. 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 company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.38 and a beta of 0.97. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.31% and a net margin of 2.65%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $170,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS acquired a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. 66.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.