S&T Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STBA) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

by · The Cerbat Gem

S&T Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STBA – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 788,100 shares, a drop of 18.8% from the October 15th total of 970,100 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 152,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days.

S&T Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of STBA traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.34. The company had a trading volume of 142,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 174,637. S&T Bancorp has a 1-year low of $27.43 and a 1-year high of $45.79. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

S&T Bancorp (NASDAQ:STBA – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. S&T Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.25% and a net margin of 23.69%. The business had revenue of $96.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.90 million. Research analysts forecast that S&T Bancorp will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&T Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from S&T Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. S&T Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Frank J. Palermo, Jr. sold 4,982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.21, for a total value of $215,272.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,000,009.03. This represents a 17.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.38% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&T Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of S&T Bancorp by 119.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 24,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 13,230 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of S&T Bancorp by 23.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 161,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,381,000 after buying an additional 30,945 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of S&T Bancorp by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 33,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&T Bancorp by 4,095.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in S&T Bancorp during the third quarter worth $204,000. 65.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised S&T Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Read Our Latest Research Report on STBA

About S&T Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

S&T Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for S&T Bank that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services. The company operates through six segments: Commercial Real Estate, Commercial and Industrial, Commercial Construction, Business Banking, Consumer Real Estate, and Other Consumer.

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