Sterling Check Corp. (NASDAQ:STER) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Sterling Check Corp. (NASDAQ:STER) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $16.20.

Separately, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Sterling Check from $16.20 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Sterling Check Stock Up 1.8 %

STER stock opened at $17.29 on Friday. Sterling Check has a 12 month low of $10.00 and a 12 month high of $17.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -172.90 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.70.

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

Insider Transactions at Sterling Check

In other Sterling Check news, major shareholder Melanie Laird sold 300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total value of $5,154,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,749,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,677,715.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 9.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sterling Check

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gabelli Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Sterling Check in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,475,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised 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 buying an additional 1,372 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sterling Check by 24.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 2,477,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,673,000 after acquiring an additional 487,600 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Sterling Check by 38.3% during the 2nd quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 1,628,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,103,000 after acquiring an additional 450,833 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sterling Check in the 1st quarter valued at about $320,000. 84.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.