Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $79.95 and last traded at $80.15, with a volume of 63313 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $78.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYBT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Stock Yards Bancorp from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler set a $81.00 price objective on Stock Yards Bancorp and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Stock Yards Bancorp from $84.00 to $80.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Stock Yards Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stock Yards Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $77.25.

Stock Yards Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50-day moving average is $75.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.47. The company has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59 and a beta of 0.72.

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $93.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.90 million. Stock Yards Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 23.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stock Yards Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Stock Yards Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.95%.

Insider Activity at Stock Yards Bancorp

In other news, Director David P. Heintzman sold 1,581 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.00, for a total transaction of $116,994.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 82,070 shares in the company, valued at $6,073,180. This trade represents a 1.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Laura L. Wells sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.00, for a total value of $312,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,954 shares in the company, valued at $1,166,412. This trade represents a 21.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,902 shares of company stock worth $1,296,210. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stock Yards Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SYBT. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 164.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 373 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 806.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 807 shares of the bank's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Stock Yards Bancorp by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stock Yards Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $113,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.46% of the company's stock.

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.