Sterling Check (NASDAQ:STER) Price Target Raised to $17.50

Sterling Check (NASDAQ:STER) had its price target boosted by Citigroup from $16.20 to $17.50 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

Sterling Check Price Performance

Shares of STER stock opened at $16.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -166.70 and a beta of 0.48. Sterling Check has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $17.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.62.

Sterling Check (NASDAQ:STER) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $200.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.81 million. Sterling Check had a negative net margin of 2.07% and a positive return on equity of 7.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sterling Check will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sterling Check news, insider Lou Paglia sold 17,526 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.19, for a total value of $266,219.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 618,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,392,447.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sterling Check

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Sterling Check by 7,540.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Sterling Check by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 14,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372 shares in the last quarter. Blackstone Inc. bought a new position in Sterling Check in the first quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sterling Check during the first quarter worth $320,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Sterling Check by 4.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 48,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. 84.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sterling Check Company Profile

Sterling Check Corp. provides technology-enabled background and identity verification services in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers identity verification services, such as telecom and device verification, identification document verification, facial recognition with biometric matching, social security number verification, and live video chat identification proofing; fingerprinting; background checks, including criminal record checks, sex offender registries, civil court records, motor vehicle and driving license records, executive investigations, credit reports, social media searches, and contingent workforce solutions; liens, judgments, and bankruptcies; and sanctions, risk, and compliance checks.