Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $33.73, but opened at $32.50. Sandy Spring Bancorp shares last traded at $33.67, with a volume of 42,228 shares.

The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.01). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 5.71%.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Monday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.25.

Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SASR. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 198.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 63,574 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after buying an additional 42,290 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,528,000 after buying an additional 25,546 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 23,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC increased its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 368.2% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,419 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,569,000 after buying an additional 50,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,184 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 2,701 shares during the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 0.98.

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.