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

Sterling Check (NASDAQ:STER) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Citigroup from $16.20 to $17.50 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Sterling Check Stock Performance

Shares of Sterling Check stock opened at $16.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -166.30 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $16.02 and its 200-day moving average is $15.62. Sterling Check has a one year low of $10.00 and a one year high of $17.05.

Sterling Check (NASDAQ:STER) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.04). Sterling Check had a positive return on equity of 7.73% and a negative net margin of 2.07%. The firm had revenue of $200.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $199.81 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Sterling Check will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Sterling Check

In other Sterling Check news, insider Lou Paglia sold 47,000 shares of Sterling Check stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.15, for a total transaction of $712,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 618,331 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,367,714.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sterling Check

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of 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. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sterling Check by 7,540.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Sterling Check by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 56,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $793,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blackstone Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sterling Check during the 1st quarter valued at $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.34% of the company’s stock.

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.