Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (SASR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.34 on May 15th

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of 0.34 per share by the bank on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th.

Sandy Spring Bancorp has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.3% annually over the last three years. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 48.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Sandy Spring Bancorp to earn $2.81 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.4%.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of SASR stock traded up $0.12 on Friday, reaching $21.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 290,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,337. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Sandy Spring Bancorp has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $967.05 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.93.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $184.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.