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

S&T Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STBA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.91 and last traded at $44.24, with a volume of 28232 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on STBA. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of S&T Bancorp from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of S&T Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of S&T Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of S&T Bancorp from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of S&T Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.40.

S&T Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $41.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.62. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.93.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89. The business had revenue of $105.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.46 million. S&T Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 23.61%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that S&T Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&T Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. S&T Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 41.14%.

S&T Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, January 22nd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&T Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in S&T Bancorp by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&T Bancorp by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 36,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after buying an additional 12,810 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in S&T Bancorp by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $843,000 after buying an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in S&T Bancorp by 7.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 104,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after acquiring an additional 7,286 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of S&T Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $4,211,000. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.