SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05, Bloomberg Earnings reports. SunTrust Banks had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 20.51%. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

SunTrust Banks (STI) traded up 1.24% during trading on Monday, hitting $57.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,416,205 shares. The company’s 50 day moving average is $56.42 and its 200 day moving average is $56.52. The firm has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24 and a beta of 1.33. SunTrust Banks has a 52-week low of $41.07 and a 52-week high of $61.69.

SunTrust Banks declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 28th that permits the company to repurchase $1.32 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 4.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised SunTrust Banks from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $52.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, June 5th. Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of SunTrust Banks in a research note on Sunday, July 23rd. Barclays PLC increased their target price on SunTrust Banks from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Rafferty Capital Markets increased their target price on SunTrust Banks from $63.00 to $64.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “hold” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of SunTrust Banks in a research report on Monday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. SunTrust Banks presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.58.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in SunTrust Banks by 8.1% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 48,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,654,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co purchased a new stake in SunTrust Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in SunTrust Banks by 2.6% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 16,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position in SunTrust Banks by 2.7% in the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 64,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,554,000 after buying an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in SunTrust Banks by 3.2% in the first quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 433,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,986,000 after buying an additional 13,513 shares during the period. 81.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About SunTrust Banks

SunTrust Banks, Inc is a provider of financial services. The Company’s principal subsidiary is SunTrust Bank (the Bank). The Company’s business segments include Consumer Banking and Private Wealth Management, Wholesale Banking, Mortgage Banking and Corporate Other. As of December 31, 2016, the Consumer Banking and Private Wealth Management segment consisted of three primary businesses: Consumer Banking, Consumer Lending and Private Wealth Management.