Stellarone (NYSE:STEL) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Key Points

• Stellarone reported quarterly EPS of $0.58, beating estimates by $0.08, while revenue rose to $111.04 million (up 6% year-over-year) and the company posted a net margin of 17.25%.
• The firm paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 (annualized $0.60), representing a 1.6% yield and a payout ratio of 30.3%.
• STEL traded near $37.59 (market cap ~$1.91B) with mixed analyst views—consensus is "Moderate Buy" (average target $37) while some firms have upgraded the stock and raised targets up to $44.

Stellarone (NYSE:STEL - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Stellarone had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $111.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $108.41 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Stellarone's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Stellarone Trading Up 0.1%

STEL stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 153,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,413. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $37.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Stellarone has a 52 week low of $24.59 and a 52 week high of $40.21. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.75.

Stellarone Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Stellarone's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stellarone during the second quarter worth $62,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Stellarone in the third quarter valued at about $83,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stellarone during the third quarter worth about $112,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in Stellarone during the second quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stellarone during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.15% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on STEL shares. Raymond James Financial lowered Stellarone from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Stellarone from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Stellarone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $33.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stellarone currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

About Stellarone

StellarOne Corporation is a bank holding company of StellarOne Bank (the Bank). The Bank is an independent commercial bank holding company. It offers services provided by full-service banks, including individual and commercial demand and time deposit accounts, commercial and consumer loans, residential mortgages, credit card services and deposit services. The Bank, through its commercial banking segment, offers Internet banking access for banking services, mobile banking and online bill payment for both consumers and commercial customers.