S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded S&T Bancorp to “strong buy” from “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $51.60.
• S&T Bancorp exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.02 EPS versus the $0.92 estimate and revenue of $105.24 million. The company also authorized a $100 million share-repurchase program covering up to 5.6% of outstanding shares.
• The stock opened at $52.95, near its 52-week high of $53.50, and institutional investors own 65.22% of shares. Recent analyst price-target increases generally range from $52 to $54, though most maintained neutral or market-perform ratings.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of S&T Bancorp from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on S&T Bancorp from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on S&T Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. Hovde Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up from $47.00) on shares of S&T Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of S&T Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.60.

S&T Bancorp Stock Performance

STBA stock opened at $52.95 on Tuesday. S&T Bancorp has a one year low of $34.01 and a one year high of $53.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.08 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.52.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $105.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.43 million. S&T Bancorp had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 9.74%. On average, equities analysts forecast that S&T Bancorp will post 3.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&T Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of S&T Bancorp by 0.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,345,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $98,098,000 after buying an additional 6,583 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in S&T Bancorp by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,723,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $67,815,000 after acquiring an additional 61,800 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in S&T Bancorp by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,624,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,922,000 after acquiring an additional 20,411 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in S&T Bancorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 958,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,388 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in S&T Bancorp by 33.5% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 459,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,260,000 after acquiring an additional 115,333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.22% of the company's stock.

S&T Bancorp Company 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.

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