S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

S&T Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STBA) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $44.03 and last traded at $42.99, with a volume of 63326 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.21.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of S&T Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of S&T Bancorp from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of S&T Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on S&T Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&T Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Denali Advisors LLC raised its position in S&T Bancorp by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 127,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,001,000 after purchasing an additional 38,400 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of S&T Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in S&T Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $581,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in S&T Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its position in S&T Bancorp by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 165,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after buying an additional 5,207 shares during the last quarter. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&T Bancorp Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. S&T Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 23.61%.The business had revenue of $105.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.46 million. Research analysts expect that S&T Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

S&T Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. S&T Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 41.14%.

S&T Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About S&T Bancorp

S&T Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, serving as the parent of S&T Bank. Established as a banking organization in 1902 with the holding company formation following in the early 1980s, S&T Bancorp has built its reputation on delivering community-oriented financial services. The company operates under the NASDAQ ticker STBA, maintaining a focus on personalized banking solutions and local decision-making.

The company’s main business activities encompass a full suite of retail and commercial banking products.