Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Stock Yards Bancorp has been upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Piper Sandler and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods have both raised their price objectives for Stock Yards Bancorp, now set at $86.00 and $85.00, respectively.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $1.15 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.05, alongside a revenue of $97.91 million, also exceeding forecasts.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Stock Yards Bancorp from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Stock Yards Bancorp from $81.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.75.

Stock Yards Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Stock Yards Bancorp stock traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.91. 82,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 83,244. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.36. Stock Yards Bancorp has a 12 month low of $57.12 and a 12 month high of $83.83.

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $97.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $95.32 million. Stock Yards Bancorp had a net margin of 23.86% and a return on equity of 13.31%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stock Yards Bancorp will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stock Yards Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Stock Yards Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Stock Yards Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.51%.

Insider Activity at Stock Yards Bancorp

In other Stock Yards Bancorp news, EVP William Dishman sold 2,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $218,836.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,467,491.40. This represents a 8.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Hillebrand sold 2,162 shares of Stock Yards Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.32, for a total transaction of $180,137.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 107,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,939,569.44. The trade was a 1.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stock Yards Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SYBT. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 26.4% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,358,138 shares of the bank's stock worth $93,793,000 after purchasing an additional 283,532 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 1,496.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,690 shares of the bank's stock valued at $9,216,000 after acquiring an additional 109,382 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Stock Yards Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $4,698,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 4.9% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 1,278,442 shares of the bank's stock valued at $88,289,000 after acquiring an additional 60,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 87.8% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 128,300 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,860,000 after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.