S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of S&T Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STBA) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $53.58 and last traded at $53.0050, with a volume of 9,925 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STBA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on S&T Bancorp from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of S&T Bancorp from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Hovde Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up from $47.00) on shares of S&T Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on S&T Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on S&T Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&T Bancorp has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.20.

S&T Bancorp Stock Down 0.2%

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $49.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.86.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $107.79 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.72 million. S&T Bancorp had a net margin of 25.10% and a return on equity of 10.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that S&T Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&T Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. S&T Bancorp’s payout ratio is 37.56%.

S&T Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buy back $100 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at S&T Bancorp

In other S&T Bancorp news, Director William Hieb sold 11,979 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.34, for a total transaction of $615,001.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,344 shares in the company, valued at $890,440.96. This trade represents a 40.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of S&T Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in S&T Bancorp by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of S&T Bancorp by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 6,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in S&T Bancorp by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in S&T Bancorp during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in S&T Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About S&T Bancorp

S&T Bancorp, Inc is the financial holding company for S&T Bank, a community bank headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1902, S&T Bank serves consumers, businesses, and institutions through a network of banking offices and digital channels.

The bank provides a range of financial products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential mortgages, consumer loans, commercial real estate financing, and business loans. It also offers treasury and cash-management services designed to support business customers.

S&T Bank serves communities primarily across western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.