S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

S&T Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STBA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $44.83 and last traded at $44.3140, with a volume of 77008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of S&T Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of S&T Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of S&T Bancorp from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded S&T Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.25.

S&T Bancorp Stock Up 0.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.78 and its 200-day moving average is $39.47.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.89. S&T Bancorp had a net margin of 23.61% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $105.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that S&T Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

S&T Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 12th. S&T Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.14%.

S&T Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, January 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&T Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in S&T Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of S&T Bancorp by 5,223.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 905 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&T Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of S&T Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in S&T Bancorp by 41.6% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. 65.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About S&T Bancorp

S&T Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, serving as the parent of S&T Bank. Established as a banking organization in 1902 with the holding company formation following in the early 1980s, S&T Bancorp has built its reputation on delivering community-oriented financial services. The company operates under the NASDAQ ticker STBA, maintaining a focus on personalized banking solutions and local decision-making.

The company’s main business activities encompass a full suite of retail and commercial banking products.