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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SASR opened at $33.66 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72 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 has a 52-week low of $19.52 and a 52-week high of $39.55.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 11.54%. As a group, 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

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $370,000. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 20,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,296.9% during the fourth quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,572 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 11,672 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 22,582 shares of the bank’s stock worth $761,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 140.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,004 shares of the bank’s stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

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.