Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ:SASR – Get Rating) and Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC – Get Rating) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Sandy Spring Bancorp and Camden National's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
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| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
| Sandy Spring Bancorp | $552.34 million | 3.19 | $235.11 million | $4.36 | 9.05 |
| Camden National | $198.22 million | 3.42 | $69.01 million | $4.23 | 10.96 |
Sandy Spring Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Camden National. Sandy Spring Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Camden National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Sandy Spring Bancorp and Camden National, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
| Sandy Spring Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Camden National | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Sandy Spring Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $51.50, indicating a potential upside of 30.48%. Camden National has a consensus target price of $48.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.56%. Given Sandy Spring Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Sandy Spring Bancorp is more favorable than Camden National.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
66.4% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.0% of Camden National shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Sandy Spring Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Camden National shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Sandy Spring Bancorp and Camden National's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
| Sandy Spring Bancorp | 36.97% | 12.47% | 1.45% |
| Camden National | 31.49% | 12.51% | 1.15% |
Volatility & Risk
Sandy Spring Bancorp has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Camden National has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Sandy Spring Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Camden National pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Sandy Spring Bancorp pays out 31.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Camden National pays out 37.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sandy Spring Bancorp has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Camden National has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Summary
Sandy Spring Bancorp beats Camden National on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Sandy Spring Bancorp
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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. It operates through three segments: Community Banking, Insurance, and Investment Management. The Community Banking segment offers financial products and services, including various loan and deposit products. Its loan products include commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, and other commercial loans; residential real estate loans; and consumer loans comprising home equity loans and lines, installment loans, and personal lines of credit. The Insurance segment provides general insurance agency services and annuities, such as commercial, personal, and medical liability lines. The Investment Management segment offers investment management and financial planning, including cash flow analysis, investment review, tax and retirement planning, insurance analysis, and estate planning to individuals, families, small businesses, and associations. It also provides personal trust and wealth management services. The company operates a network of approximately 50 locations in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington D.C. Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Olney, Maryland.
About Camden National
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Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system. It also offers non-owner-occupied commercial estate loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, unsecured fully-guaranteed commercial loans backed by the U.S. small business administration, loans secured by one-to four-family properties, and consumer and home equity loans. In addition, the company provides brokerage and insurance services through its financial offerings consisting of college, retirement, estate planning, mutual funds, strategic asset management accounts, and variable and fixed annuities. Further, it offers a range of fiduciary and asset management, wealth management, investment management, financial planning, and trustee services. As of December 31, 2021, the company had 57 branches within Maine; one residential mortgage lending office in Braintree, Massachusetts; two locations in New Hampshire, including a branch in Portsmouth and a commercial loan production office in Manchester; and an online residential mortgage and small commercial digital loan platform, as well as 66 ATMs. Camden National Corporation was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Camden, Maine.
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