Stellarone (NYSE:STEL) Sets New 52-Week High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Stellarone's stock reached a new 52-week high of $41.00 intraday and was last trading near $38.07 (volume 646 shares).
• Analysts have grown more positive—Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded STEL to outperform with a $44 target and Weiss Ratings initiated a 'buy', leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $37.
• Company fundamentals include a $1.94B market cap and 19.3 PE, Q1 EPS of $0.51 that met estimates with revenue up 0.8% YoY, a $0.15 quarterly dividend (1.6% yield), and heavy institutional buying (about 54% held by funds).

Stellarone Corp (NYSE:STEL - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $41.00 and last traded at $38.0650, with a volume of 646 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on STEL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Stellarone from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings started coverage on Stellarone in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They issued a "buy (b-)" rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Stellarone from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $37.00.

Stellarone Trading Up 0.6%

The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.62.

Stellarone (NYSE:STEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51. Stellarone had a return on equity of 6.30% and a net margin of 17.25%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Stellarone Corp will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Stellarone Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Stellarone's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.30%.

Institutional Trading of Stellarone

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STEL. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Stellarone by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,875,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $88,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,308 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stellarone by 34.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,237,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,556,000 after purchasing an additional 318,011 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Stellarone by 23,465.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 312,474 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,667,000 after purchasing an additional 311,148 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stellarone by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 429,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,277,000 after purchasing an additional 136,945 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stellarone by 288.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 181,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,500,000 after buying an additional 134,637 shares during the period. 54.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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