Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:SYBT) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 1,328,582 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1,181% from the previous session’s volume of 103,675 shares.The stock last traded at $63.49 and had previously closed at $65.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SYBT shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $65.50 price target on shares of Stock Yards Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens increased their target price on Stock Yards Bancorp from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Hovde Group increased their target price on Stock Yards Bancorp from $53.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $64.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Stock Yards Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.88.

Stock Yards Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Stock Yards Bancorp (NASDAQ:SYBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.10. Stock Yards Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $123.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.90 million. Equities analysts forecast that Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc. will post 3.69 EPS for the current year.

Stock Yards Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This is a boost from Stock Yards Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Stock Yards Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James A. Hillebrand sold 9,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $561,195.47. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,536,845.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Stock Yards Bancorp news, Director David P. Heintzman sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.27, for a total value of $373,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 107,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,667,248.90. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James A. Hillebrand sold 9,053 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total value of $561,195.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,450 shares in the company, valued at $6,536,845.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,457 shares of company stock worth $1,335,466 over the last ninety days. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stock Yards Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SYBT. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Stock Yards Bancorp by 163.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 142,455 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,076,000 after buying an additional 88,364 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,168,256 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,139,000 after purchasing an additional 50,730 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 534.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 43,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 36,269 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,786,710 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,998,000 after purchasing an additional 33,906 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stock Yards Bancorp by 17.3% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 192,099 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,542,000 after purchasing an additional 28,400 shares during the period. 56.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Stock Yards Bancorp

Stock Yards Bancorp, Inc operates as a holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides various financial services for individuals, corporations, and others in the United States. It operates in two segments, Commercial Banking, and WM&T. The Commercial Banking segment offers a range of loan and deposit products to individual consumers and businesses in all its markets through retail lending, mortgage banking, deposit services, online banking, mobile banking, private banking, commercial lending, commercial real estate lending, leasing, treasury management services, merchant services, international banking, correspondent banking, and other banking services.