Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) to Issue $0.34 Quarterly Dividend

Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SASR) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid 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 of this dividend 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 payout ratio of 48.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research 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 Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:SASR traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.49. 290,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 302,337. The stock has a market capitalization of $967.05 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.94. 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 has a 12-month low of $19.27 and a 12-month high of $27.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $21.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.93.

Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 6.69%. The firm had revenue of $184.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $97.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sandy Spring Bancorp will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandy Spring Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sandy Spring Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.