Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the August 31st total of 953,700 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 351,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ SASR opened at $31.15 on Monday. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 1-year low of $19.27 and a 1-year high of $34.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.08. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 12.31%. The business had revenue of $184.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandy Spring Bancorp

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

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.