Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) Lowered to "Sell" Rating by StockNews.com

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on SYBT. Stephens increased their target price on Stock Yards Bancorp from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Stock Yards Bancorp from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $81.00 target price on Stock Yards Bancorp and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.25.

Stock Yards Bancorp Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ SYBT opened at $76.22 on Wednesday. Stock Yards Bancorp has a 12 month low of $44.36 and a 12 month high of $79.85. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $70.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.13. Stock Yards Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.71% and a net margin of 22.54%. The firm had revenue of $93.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $92.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stock Yards Bancorp will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Stock Yards Bancorp

In related news, Director David P. Heintzman sold 3,419 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.71, for a total transaction of $255,433.49. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 83,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,249,566.21. This trade represents a 3.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura L. Wells sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $77,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,954 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,458. This trade represents a 5.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $449,427 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SYBT. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 164.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 373 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 1,077.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 471 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 485 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Stock Yards Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 806.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 807 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. 56.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stock Yards Bancorp

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, and other banking services.

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