Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on SASR. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

SASR stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.37. 290,023 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,487. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a one year low of $19.27 and a one year high of $27.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $961.65 million, a PE ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.93.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $184.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.45 million. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,521 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is owned by 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.