Teton Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Teton Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,800 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Teton Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SASR. CWM LLC boosted 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $94,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $115,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,521 shares of the bank’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Finally, Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 263.8% in the 4th quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,239 shares of the bank’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 4,524 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Stock Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ SASR traded up $0.57 on Thursday, reaching $21.72. 220,598 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 298,946. 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 fifty day moving average price of $21.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.94. The company has a market cap of $977.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 0.94. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.27 and a 12 month high of $27.90.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SASR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.50.

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.