Dark Forest Capital Management LP Sells 18,270 Shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lowered its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) by 53.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,756 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,270 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Sandy Spring Bancorp were worth $384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. now owns 11,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.9% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,456 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 9.8% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 8.2% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 17,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Sandy Spring Bancorp by 2.8% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 55,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,352,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.90% of the company’s stock.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SASR opened at $31.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.27 and a 52 week high of $34.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.46 and its 200-day moving average is $25.48.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.08. Sandy Spring Bancorp had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 6.41%. 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 business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. Sandy Spring Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.