Sterling Bancorp [NYSE:STL] shares are showing an active tape with a current price of $12.45 on Wednesday.
Sterling Bancorp is in the Financial sector under the Banks – Regional industry. This week, we are watching the stock hit price per sales of 2.01 with an earning per share of 1.43.
For the year, the stock is trading -42.79% and the five-day change stands at 14.64%. As a point of reference, the S&P 500 is trading 0.55% YTD.
Wait and see
Holding a Market Cap of $2.25 billion, Sterling Bancorp has seen a trading range over the last year of $7.01-$21.63.
For the last five days, STL is up from its last closing price. The average shares trading hands each day is 2.65M, with average 10-day volume coming in at 2.81 million.
Using a Force Index Indicator is a good way to look at how strong actual buying and selling pressure is for STL. When we apply the Elder Force Index to Sterling Bancorp, we are seeing an Elder Force Indicator number of 452744.76.
Recent Performance
The recent performance of the stock is another area that can tell traders how to proceed. STL is presenting an interesting case. This can be seen in the Forward P/E ratio, which currently stands at 7.62.
In the last quarter, STL made a profit of 213.3 million. In addition, the company has operating cash flow of $258.1 million.
Technical Analysis
Looking at popular technical indicators, the company’s 5-day moving average is 11.81 compared to the 50-day moving average of 11.29. So, we are clearly seeing an upward trajectory here.
The Relative Strength Index or RSI is an indicator ranging between 0 and 100 that traders use to determine if a stock is “overbought” or “oversold.” A strong uptrend tending to reach into the “overbought” status is above 70, while a downward trend will stay around the 30 mark. STL currently holds a 9-day RSI of 72.53%, while 100-day RSI stands at 48.90%.
Another indicator we believe is worth keeping tabs on is the Moving Average Convergence Divergence or MACD. Similar to the concept of the Force Index — on the basis of price momentum — the MACD gives traders a tool to measure the turning point of a stock even during rapid fluctuations in price. Buy and sell signals are determined by a stock’s relation to the zero line, so if a stock is above a zero line for many weeks it might be a “buy.” On the other hand, if a stock is below the zero line consistently, it might be one to stay away from. Also, if the MACD line reaches a peak and dips, its momentum may be waning. STL’s 9-day MACD is 0.79 and the company’s 100-day MACD stands at 0.40.
Inside Moves
Another area that is important to analyze is insider moves and majority shareholders. While this is not always an error-free way to tell what the future holds for a stock, you can maybe gather important information from reading the tea leaves about who is buying and selling.
The major holders for this stock are 1.69% by insiders and 88.05% by institutions.
Over the last six months, insiders have sold 7,927 with the most recent transaction from GEISEL THOMAS X, President, Corporate Banking, with a sell at price 11.46 per share.
Conclusion
Overall, the recommended rating for STL is Strong Buy. Currently, the company has 11 analysts watching the stock, and the average quarterly earnings estimate is 0.38. Quarterly revenue estimates are averaging 220.22M with the high estimate reaching 223.46M and the low at 216.4M.
To review, the current 1-year target estimate is sitting at 15.33, while the current price 12.45. Based on this, we expect the stock to rise considering the aforementioned fundamentals.
