Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Raises Position in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 54.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,130 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,672 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $2,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,217 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Sandy Spring Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $115,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $245,000. Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 128,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after buying an additional 47,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 20.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,725 shares of the bank’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,956 shares in the last quarter. 66.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of SASR opened at $21.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.27 and a 1-year high of $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $967.50 million, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.94.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.03. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a return on equity of 6.69% and a net margin of 12.74%. The firm had revenue of $184.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $97.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.33%. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SASR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sandy Spring Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.50.

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.