Stellar Bancorp, Inc.
- Open
- 39.25
- Day high
- 39.32
- Day low
- 38.78
- Prev close
- 39.31
- Volume
- 5.9M
- Mkt cap
- $2.0B
- P/E (TTM)
- 19.2
- EPS (TTM)
- $2.05
- P/B
- 1.2
- P/S
- 3.4
- Yield
- 0.76%
- Per share
- $0.30
Stellar Bancorp, Inc. (STEL) is a Financial Services company listed on NYSE. The stock is up 36% over the past year.
Stellar Bancorp, Inc. (STEL) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
STEL earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 8, 2026 | $0.50 | $0.58 | +16.0% | $111M | +2.4% |
| Jan 28, 2026 | $0.53 | $0.51 | -3.8% | $109M | +2.7% |
| Oct 24, 2025 | $0.49 | $0.50 | +1.2% | $106M | -0.3% |
| Jul 25, 2025 | $0.45 | $0.51 | +13.3% | $104M | -2.8% |
| Apr 25, 2025 | $0.44 | $0.46 | +4.5% | $105M | -0.4% |
| Jan 30, 2025 | $0.48 | $0.52 | +8.3% | $108M | +0.5% |
| Oct 25, 2024 | $0.48 | $0.63 | +31.3% | $108M | +1.4% |
| Jul 26, 2024 | $0.48 | $0.56 | +16.7% | $107M | +0.2% |
| Apr 26, 2024 | $0.48 | $0.49 | +2.1% | $108M | +1.2% |
| Jan 26, 2024 | $0.55 | $0.51 | -7.3% | $113M | +4.2% |
| Oct 27, 2023 | $0.57 | $0.58 | +1.8% | $111M | +1.9% |
| Jul 28, 2023 | $0.68 | $0.66 | -2.9% | $114M | -2.6% |
STEL insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2026 | Sirkel Jason D.officer: Chief Banking Officer | Option | 30,000 | $21.00 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | West Joe Fofficer: Senior Executive VP, CCO | Tax | 676 | $35.51 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Vitulli, III Ramon A.officer: President | Tax | 1,318 | $35.51 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Sirkel Jason D.officer: Chief Banking Officer | Tax | 444 | $35.51 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Retzloff Steven F.director, officer: Executive Chairman | Tax | 1,181 | $35.51 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Long Justin Mofficer: SEVP, GC & Secretary | Tax | 796 | $35.51 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Franklin Robert R Jrdirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Tax | 3,837 | $35.51 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Egge Paul Pofficer: Senior Executive VP, CFO | Tax | 993 | $35.51 |
| Mar 17, 2026 | Akin Okan I.officer: Senior Executive VP, CRO | Tax | 618 | $35.51 |
| Mar 3, 2026 | West Joe Fofficer: Senior Executive VP, CCO | Grant | 3,226 | — |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Akin Okan I.officer: Senior Executive VP, CRO | Grant | 2,855 | — |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Franklin Robert R Jrdirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Grant | 16,557 | — |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Franklin Robert R Jrdirector, officer: Chief Executive Officer | Grant | 11,038 | — |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Egge Paul Pofficer: Senior Executive VP, CFO | Grant | 4,571 | — |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Long Justin Mofficer: SEVP, GC & Secretary | Grant | 3,537 | — |
Source: STEL SEC Form 4 filings, latest Jun 22, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full STEL insider & 13F page →Stellar Bancorp, Inc. company profile
Overview
Stellar Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:STEL) is a regional bank holding company founded in 2007 and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company went public in November 2017 and has grown significantly through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, most notably completing a merger with CBTX in October 2022. Stellar operates as a community-focused commercial bank serving small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individual customers primarily across the Southeast Texas region, including major metropolitan areas like Houston, Dallas, The Woodlands, and Beaumont. The bank has positioned itself as a relationship-driven financial institution emphasizing personalized service in markets dominated by larger national banks.
Business
Stellar Bancorp operates in the regional banking industry, providing traditional commercial banking services to local communities and businesses. Regional banks like Stellar serve as intermediaries between depositors and borrowers, taking in customer deposits and lending those funds to creditworthy borrowers while earning profit from the interest rate spread. The company's core business revolves around deposit-taking and lending activities. On the deposit side, Stellar offers various account types including checking accounts, commercial accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and certificates of deposit. These deposits form the bank's primary funding source, with approximately 38-40% consisting of non-interest-bearing deposits, which are particularly valuable as they provide free funding to the bank. Stellar's loan portfolio comprises several key segments. Commercial and industrial (C&I) loans represent a growing focus area, providing financing to businesses for working capital, equipment purchases, and expansion needs. Commercial real estate loans, including multi-family residential properties, form another significant segment, though the bank has been strategically reducing this concentration in recent years to meet regulatory guidelines. The portfolio also includes commercial real estate construction and land development loans, residential real estate loans for 1-4 family homes, residential construction loans, and consumer loans. Beyond traditional banking, Stellar provides ancillary financial services including automated teller machine access, mobile and internet banking platforms, wire transfer services, cash management solutions, safe deposit boxes, debit cards, night depository services, direct deposits, cashier's checks, and letters of credit. These services enhance customer relationships and provide additional fee income streams.
Revenue model
Stellar Bancorp generates revenue primarily through net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and interest paid on deposits and borrowed funds. This spread-based model is fundamental to banking, where the bank essentially "rents" money from depositors at lower rates and lends it to borrowers at higher rates. In recent quarters, Stellar has maintained a net interest margin around 4.2-4.3%, which is relatively healthy for the regional banking sector. The bank's paying customers fall into two main categories: depositors who provide funding (and often pay fees for services), and borrowers who pay interest on loans. Small and medium-sized businesses form the core customer base, along with professionals and individual consumers in the Texas markets where Stellar operates. Fee income provides a secondary revenue stream through various banking services, though this represents a smaller portion of total revenue compared to interest income. Recent quarters have shown non-interest income around $5-6 million quarterly. Several factors significantly impact Stellar's profitability margins. Interest rate environment is the primary driver - rising rates generally benefit banks by increasing loan yields faster than deposit costs, while falling rates can compress margins. Deposit competition in Texas markets affects funding costs, as banks compete for stable, low-cost deposits. Credit quality directly impacts profitability through loan loss provisions - economic downturns or sector-specific stress can require increased reserves. Regulatory capital requirements influence lending capacity and return on equity. Commercial real estate market conditions are particularly important given Stellar's historical concentration in this sector, though the bank has been diversifying away from CRE. Finally, local economic conditions in Texas markets, including oil and gas sector performance, population growth, and job creation, directly affect loan demand and credit quality.
Competitive moat
Stellar Bancorp operates in the highly competitive regional banking sector where moats are generally narrow and primarily relationship-based. The company's competitive advantages are modest but centered around its local market knowledge and community banking approach in Texas markets. The bank's primary defensive position comes from customer relationships and local market presence. Stellar emphasizes personalized service and local decision-making, which can create switching costs for small and medium-sized business customers who value relationship banking over the more standardized approach of large national banks. The company's focus on treasury management and cash management services for business customers helps deepen these relationships beyond simple lending. However, Stellar faces significant competitive pressures that limit its moat strength. Large national banks dominate Texas markets with superior technology platforms, broader product offerings, and more competitive pricing on both deposits and loans. Community and regional banks like Stellar must compete for the same customer base while operating with higher cost structures and limited scale advantages. Regulatory barriers provide some protection by making new bank formation difficult and expensive, but existing competitors can expand into Stellar's markets relatively easily. The bank's recent strategic shift toward commercial and industrial lending from commercial real estate represents an attempt to build expertise in a less commoditized lending area, but this market is also highly competitive. Technology disruption poses an ongoing threat as fintech companies and digital banks offer more convenient and often cheaper alternatives for banking services. While Stellar has invested in mobile and digital platforms, it lacks the scale to compete with technology leaders in the financial services space. Overall, Stellar's moat is relatively weak, typical of regional banks that must rely primarily on service quality and local relationships to compete against larger, better-capitalized competitors with superior technology and product breadth.
Risks & safety
Stellar Bancorp demonstrates solid financial stability with strong capital ratios and manageable risk levels, though typical banking sector vulnerabilities remain. **Capital and Solvency:** • Total risk-based capital ratio of 16.06% (well above regulatory minimums) • Tangible common equity ratio around 11-12% • No significant debt-to-equity concerns (0.04 ratio as of Q4 2024) • Strong liquidity position with $560+ million in cash and short-term investments **Credit Quality:** • Allowance for credit losses at 1.15% of total loans • Minimal net charge-offs ($163,000 in Q1 2025) • Provision expense remains manageable ($3.6 million in Q1 2025) • Strategic reduction in commercial real estate concentration reduces risk **Valuation Metrics:** • Price-to-earnings ratio around 14-15x (reasonable for regional banks) • Price-to-book ratio near 0.9x (slight discount to book value) • Return on equity around 15% (healthy for the sector) **Other Considerations:** • Interest rate sensitivity creates margin volatility risk • Concentration in Texas markets creates geographic risk • Competitive deposit market pressures funding costs
Recent development
Over the past few years, Stellar Bancorp has undergone significant strategic transformation focused on balance sheet optimization and market positioning. The most significant development was the October 2022 merger with CBTX, which substantially increased the bank's scale to over $10 billion in assets and expanded its market presence across Texas. Following the merger, management has pursued a deliberate "de-risking" strategy during the high interest rate environment. This included strategically reducing commercial real estate loan concentrations to meet regulatory guidance, building a more liquid securities portfolio, and maintaining higher capital ratios. The bank sold portions of its securities portfolio and some challenging credits to strengthen its balance sheet position. Stellar has made a strategic pivot toward commercial and industrial lending, actively recruiting C&I professionals and developing internal talent through an Officer Development Program. This shift aims to diversify the loan portfolio away from commercial real estate and build expertise in relationship-based business lending. The company has emphasized deposit franchise development, with management noting that 55-58% of new account openings come from new customers. The bank has focused on building treasury management relationships and growing non-interest-bearing deposits, which comprised 38-40% of the deposit base. Capital deployment has become increasingly active, with Stellar launching share repurchase programs (repurchasing 1.4 million shares in Q1 2025) and exploring potential mergers and acquisitions. Management has indicated 2025 as the "Year of the Customer" with renewed focus on growth after the balance sheet optimization period. The bank has also been building operational infrastructure, completing system integration from the CBTX merger and investing in digital banking platforms while maintaining its community banking service model.
STEL company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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