Denali Advisors LLC Grows Stake in S&T Bancorp, Inc. $STBA

Key Points

• Denali Advisors LLC boosted its S&T Bancorp stake by 43.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 38,400 more shares and bringing its holdings to 127,100 shares worth about $5.0 million.
• S&T Bancorp posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with EPS of $0.94 versus the $0.87 consensus, while revenue came in slightly below estimates.
• The bank is returning cash to shareholders through a higher quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share and a newly authorized $100 million share repurchase plan.

Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in S&T Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STBA - Free Report) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,400 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC owned about 0.33% of S&T Bancorp worth $5,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of S&T Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of S&T Bancorp by 5,223.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&T Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of S&T Bancorp by 41.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&T Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $50,000. 65.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&T Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ STBA opened at $44.52 on Friday. S&T Bancorp, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.01 and a 12-month high of $45.17. The company has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.07. S&T Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.35% and a net margin of 23.71%.The company had revenue of $102.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.62 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that S&T Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

S&T Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 22nd that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

S&T Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is an increase from S&T Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. S&T Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STBA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered S&T Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of S&T Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on S&T Bancorp from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised S&T Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson assumed coverage on S&T Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.40.

S&T Bancorp Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.