Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $34.60 and last traded at $34.60, with a volume of 122 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SASR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from $23.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Sandy Spring Bancorp from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 1.2 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.95.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its 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). Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.74% and a net margin of 11.54%. The company had revenue of $189.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 66.67%.

Institutional Trading of Sandy Spring Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,470,621 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,182,000 after purchasing an additional 108,703 shares in the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 12.0% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 904,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,032,000 after acquiring an additional 97,262 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 18.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 775,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,885,000 after acquiring an additional 120,996 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 1,199.7% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 694,867 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,927,000 after purchasing an additional 641,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 473,241 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,528,000 after purchasing an additional 25,546 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.