Maxim Group analyst Michael Diana reiterated a Buy rating on Sterling Bancorp (STL) today and set a price target of $36. The company’s shares opened today at $18.40.
Diana commented:
“STL reported 4Q18 EPS of $0.51, beating consensus of $0.50. Excluding non- recurring items, EPS would have been $0.53 (by our calculations). In our view, it was a solid quarter. Core non-interest income (excluding non-recurring items) was up linked-quarter, and non-interest expenses were down, and both were at a run-rate consistent with revised 2019 guidance. Both the NIM and the core NIM (excluding accretion income on acquired loans) were stable (down only 1bp), as yields on interest earning assets increased, and the increase in deposit costs slowed (up 9bps versus up 13bps in 3Q18). However, average earning assets were down slightly, so net interest income was down 0.5%. The core efficiency ratio was a low 40%.”
According to TipRanks.com, Diana is a 4-star analyst with an average return of 4.3% and a 56.3% success rate. Diana covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as First Savings Financial Group, Arlington Asset Investment, and Westamerica Bancorporation.
Sterling Bancorp has an analyst consensus of Strong Buy, with a price target consensus of $25.80.
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Sterling Bancorp’s market cap is currently $4.12B and has a P/E ratio of 14.18. The company has a Price to Book ratio of 0.96.
Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 58 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is positive on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders buying their shares of STL in relation to earlier this year.
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Sterling Bancorp operates as a financial and bank holding company of Sterling National Bank. It offers commercial, business, and consumer banking products and services through its subsidiary. The company was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Montebello, NY.
