Stellarone (NYSE:STEL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $998.52 EPS

Key Points

• Quarterly surprise: Stellarone reported EPS of $999.00 for the quarter, beating the consensus $0.48 by $998.52, and posted a net margin of 17.25% with a return on equity of 6.30%.
• Dividend maintained: The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share (annualized $0.60), implying a yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 30.3%.
• Shares traded at $37.59 (market cap ~$1.91B, P/E 18.99) with an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $37.00; recent analyst moves include an upgrade to "outperform" with a $44 target and a downgrade to "hold," while institutions own about 54% of the stock.

Stellarone (NYSE:STEL - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $999.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $998.52, Zacks reports. Stellarone had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 6.30%.

Stellarone Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:STEL traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $37.59. 111,854 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 489,637. The business's 50-day moving average price is $37.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.75. Stellarone has a 1 year low of $24.59 and a 1 year high of $40.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Stellarone Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Stellarone's payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Stellarone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Stellarone in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "buy (b-)" rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Stellarone from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Stellarone by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 203,687 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,302,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stellarone by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 216,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,691,000 after purchasing an additional 18,643 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Stellarone in the 4th quarter worth $738,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Stellarone in the 4th quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Stellarone in the 4th quarter worth $262,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.15% of the company's stock.

Stellarone Company Profile

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.

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