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

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

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SASR opened at $33.87 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.54 and its 200 day moving average is $32.38. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 12-month low of $19.52 and a 12-month high of $39.55. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $189.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 5.71%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SASR. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 140.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,004 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 70,599 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,215,000 after acquiring an additional 34,735 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 93.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,271,498 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,235,000 after purchasing an additional 615,591 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $33,654,000 after buying an additional 35,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 36.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 32,223 shares during the period. 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.