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

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) in a report released on Friday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the bank’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ SASR opened at $31.97 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.48. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a twelve month low of $19.52 and a twelve month high of $39.55. 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 capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.05 and a beta of 0.97.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released 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 net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 5.31%. Research analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SASR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.4% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,065 shares of the bank’s stock worth $818,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 231.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 8,200 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 55.3% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 17,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 6,224 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $254,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.