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

Equities researchers at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research report issued on Sunday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Sandy Spring Bancorp stock opened at $37.85 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.03. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1 year low of $19.52 and a 1 year high of $39.06.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $189.81 million during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $122,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 26.8% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 21,284 shares of the bank’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 102.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 25,404 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 12,880 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $302,000. Finally, EJF Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 79,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 16,659 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently 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.