Breaking Down Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors

If you are looking at Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (SBT) for a traditional financial health assessment, you are defintely a few quarters late; the story here is no longer about growth or profitability, but about the final cash-out. The company formally completed the sale of its banking subsidiary and filed a Certificate of Dissolution on April 1, 2025, so the focus shifts entirely to the liquidation value for shareholders. The good news is that the board already declared an initial liquidating distribution of $4.85 per share, which totaled a massive $252 million paid out on April 8, 2025, essentially returning the bulk of the value immediately after the wind-down began. But here's the realist's caveat: Sterling Bancorp retained approximately $16 million in cash to cover the remaining costs and potential liabilities, including legal defense costs related to demand letters from a purported shareholder and former executives. That final, smaller distribution is still uncertain, so while the initial payout was strong, the ultimate book value is still being negotiated against those remaining risks.

Revenue Analysis

The core takeaway for Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) in the 2025 fiscal year is simple: the company's revenue story is one of dissolution, not operation. You cannot analyze a traditional revenue stream because the primary operating asset, Sterling Bank and Trust, F.S.B., was sold and the parent company is now in the process of liquidation.

This means the most significant revenue event in 2025 is the sale itself, which shifted the company's focus from generating interest income to distributing liquidation proceeds to shareholders. Here's the quick math on what the revenue streams looked like before this major change, and how they were fundamentally altered.

Pre-Dissolution Revenue Structure (2024 Baseline)

Before the sale, Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) operated as a bank holding company, so its revenue was overwhelmingly dominated by Net Interest Income (NII). NII is the difference between the income generated from interest-earning assets (like loans and investments) and the interest paid on liabilities (like deposits and borrowings).

For the full year 2024, the company's operating revenue before loan losses stood at $57.53 million. This is the figure to anchor your historical analysis on. The breakdown clearly shows where the money came from:

• Net Interest Income: $56.5 million in 2024. This was the engine of the business.
• Non-Interest Income: $1.1 million in 2024. This includes fees and other service charges, a comparatively small contributor.

Honestly, this is a bank-Net Interest Income is defintely where the action is.

The 2025 Revenue Shift: Liquidation, Not Growth

The year-over-year revenue analysis is completely distorted by the sale of Sterling Bank and Trust, F.S.B. to EverBank Financial Corp, which was expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. This transaction, valued at $261 million, is the single most important financial event for the company in 2025 and represents the ultimate realization of its primary asset's value.

What this estimate hides is that the traditional operating revenue streams essentially ceased after the sale. The company is no longer generating a full year of Net Interest Income, which was $56.5 million in 2024. The primary financial action for the remainder of 2025 is the process of dissolution and the distribution of the liquidation proceeds to shareholders.

To be fair, the last reported full-year 2024 revenue of $66.06 million (which includes a provision for loan losses recovery) was already a -13.38% decrease from 2023. The 2025 operating revenue will show a massive, non-comparable decline because the business is gone. The new revenue is the cash from the sale.

Contribution of Business Segments

As a bank holding company, Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) had one primary segment: community banking. The revenue breakdown is effectively a segmentation by source, as seen in the table below. The key takeaway is the overwhelming reliance on the core banking function-lending and borrowing-for revenue generation.

The sale of the bank means that both of these segments now contribute zero to ongoing operations, as the company's financial health is now defined by its ability to execute the dissolution plan efficiently. You can read more about the implications of this transition in Breaking Down Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Next Step: The Board of Directors needs to announce the final liquidation distribution schedule and amount by the end of Q4 2025.

Profitability Metrics

You need to know the final operating health of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) before its acquisition, so let's cut straight to the numbers. The company closed its sale to EverBank Financial Corp in March 2025, which means a full 2025 fiscal year analysis is impossible. We must look at the Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) through the end of fiscal year 2024 to understand its profitability leading into the dissolution.

The core takeaway is this: Sterling Bancorp's profitability ratios-Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE)-were significantly weaker than the US regional bank industry average, reflecting the operational and regulatory challenges the company faced. Honestly, the margins were razor-thin.

For a bank, Gross Profit is typically equivalent to Total Revenue (Net Interest Income plus Non-Interest Income), which for the TTM period ending in 2024 stood at $66.06 million. This gives a theoretical Gross Profit Margin of 100%. The real story is further down the income statement. The Operating Profit Margin, which shows how well the company managed its day-to-day operations (before interest and taxes), was only about 8.02% (Operating Income of $5.30 million on $66.06 million of revenue). After accounting for taxes and all other items, the Net Profit Margin was a mere 3.24%, translating to a Net Income of just $2.14 million.

Here's the quick math on how Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (SBT) stacked up against the industry in its final year of operation:

The comparison is stark. Sterling Bancorp's ROA of 0.09% was roughly one-tenth of the industry's average of 0.96% to 1.12%. This low efficiency in generating profit from assets, plus an abysmal ROE of 0.65% compared to the regional bank average of around 9.06%, defintely signaled a business model under severe stress. The operational efficiency was a major concern, with the company's annual revenue declining from $80 million in 2022 to $58 million in 2024, showing a clear downward trend in the top line leading up to the acquisition.

The trend in net income tells an equally volatile story, swinging from a net loss of -$14 million in 2022 to a profit of $7.41 million in 2023, only to drop sharply to $2.14 million in 2024. This level of volatility is a huge red flag for a bank, indicating inconsistent performance and potential issues with cost management and credit loss provisions. You can read more about the financial health of the company in the full post: Breaking Down Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Given the acquisition is complete, the actionable insight for investors is to understand that the low profitability metrics confirmed the company's weak position, making the sale to EverBank Financial Corp a logical, if not necessary, outcome for shareholders seeking liquidity.

Debt vs. Equity Structure

You're looking at Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT)'s balance sheet to understand its funding mix, but the most important context is the company's status: it sold its primary subsidiary, Sterling Bank and Trust, to EverBank Financial Corp in March 2025 and is now in the process of dissolution. The financing structure we analyze is the one that led up to this final, ultimate liquidation event.

The core insight is that Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) was operating with virtually no long-term debt in its final operational year, relying almost entirely on deposits and equity. The company's focus shifted from growth financing to a clean balance sheet for the sale. This is a critical point: they defintely prioritized capital health over leverage before the transaction.

The Near-Zero Debt Position

Just before the sale, the company maintained an extremely low level of borrowed debt. For the 2024 fiscal year, the company reported $0.00 million in Long-Term Debt Interest Expense, indicating that any outstanding long-term debt was either paid off or negligible by year-end. This is highly unusual for a major financial institution and signals a deliberate, strategic deleveraging to prepare for the acquisition.

The company's liabilities were overwhelmingly composed of customer deposits, which are technically liabilities but serve as a bank's primary, low-cost funding source. As of the end of 2024, the company's balance sheet showed the following key figures:

• Total Liabilities: $2,103 million
• Total Equity: $334 million

Debt-to-Equity Ratio: A Bank's Nuance

Calculating the raw Debt-to-Equity (D/E) ratio using Total Liabilities divided by Total Equity yields a figure of approximately 6.30 ($2,103M / $334M). While this number seems high in a non-financial context, it is misleading for a bank. For a regional bank, the industry average D/E ratio is typically around 0.50 to 0.5753 when only considering borrowed funds like bonds or FHLB advances as 'debt.'

Here's the quick math on the raw ratio, and why it matters:

The real story is the company's choice to fund its assets with deposits and equity, avoiding the risk of long-term debt. This conservative capital structure helped facilitate the sale of the bank for $261 million to EverBank. This clean structure was a clear advantage in the acquisition process, minimizing the buyer's risk profile.

Refinancing and Final Distribution

The ultimate 'refinancing activity' for Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) in 2025 was the sale and subsequent wind-down. After the sale, the holding company adopted a plan of dissolution and declared an initial liquidating distribution of $4.85 per share to shareholders in April 2025, totaling approximately $252 million. This action effectively converted the shareholder's equity into cash, marking the end of the company's financing life cycle.

The company's strategy was to use equity funding to maintain a strong capital position, which is a key component of its overall corporate philosophy. You can read more about their underlying principles here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT).

Liquidity and Solvency

You need to understand Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT)'s liquidity not as a going concern, but as a company in its final stages of dissolution, which fundamentally changes the analysis. The core of its 2025 liquidity is the cash generated from the sale of its primary asset, not its day-to-day operations. The company is defunct as of March 29, 2025, having sold its subsidiary bank to EverBank Financial Corp. This means traditional liquidity metrics are a snapshot just before the wind-down.

Pre-Dissolution Liquidity Positions

Looking at the trailing twelve months (TTM) leading up to the sale, Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (SBT)'s short-term liquidity, as measured by the Current Ratio (Current Assets / Current Liabilities) and Quick Ratio (Quick Assets / Current Liabilities), was tight at 0.94 for both. This means for every dollar of short-term liabilities, the company held only 94 cents in current assets or quick assets (like cash, receivables, and marketable securities). For a bank holding company, these ratios are often less indicative than regulatory capital ratios, but a sub-1.0 ratio still signals a near-term reliance on non-core activities or asset sales to cover immediate obligations. That's a low cushion.

• Current Ratio (TTM): 0.94
• Quick Ratio (TTM): 0.94

Working Capital and Cash Flow Trends

The working capital trend was driven by the decision to exit the business. The company's cash flow statements for the full fiscal year 2024 show a negative Operating Cash Flow of -$2.12 million, which is not a sustainable position for a normal business. However, the Investing Cash Flow was a massive positive at $286.27 million for 2024, primarily reflecting the strategic move to liquidate assets in preparation for the sale and dissolution. This is the key insight: the company shifted from relying on operations (which were generating a loss) to generating cash through asset sales.

Here's the quick math on the cash flow shift:

The negative operating cash flow, while concerning in isolation, was completely overshadowed by the deliberate, strategic cash infusion from investing activities, resulting in a TTM Cash Flow per Share of $0.12. The company's focus was defintely on maximizing the cash proceeds from the sale of its bank subsidiary, Sterling Bank and Trust, F.S.B., which was sold for approximately $261 million. This sale is the single most important liquidity event of 2025.

Liquidity Strengths and Concerns

The primary strength is the definitive cash event: the sale. This transaction provided a clear, substantial pool of cash for the planned liquidating distribution to shareholders. The major concern, however, is that this is not a business that continues to exist; it is a liquidation play. The liquidity strength is a one-time event, not an ongoing operational capability. The future of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (SBT) is not about growing net interest income, but about efficiently managing the wind-down process and distributing the net cash to shareholders in accordance with its dissolution plan. You can review the company's original strategy and values in this document: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT).

Action for Investors: Focus your analysis on the final net asset value per share after all dissolution costs, not on recurring revenue or profit margins. The game is over, and now it's about the final payout.

Valuation Analysis

You're looking at Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) through a traditional valuation lens, but honestly, the most critical insight is that the company's common stock was delisted after the sale of its bank subsidiary to EverBank Financial Corp on March 31, 2025. This means any valuation ratios you see now are essentially historical metrics leading up to that final transaction, not indicators of a currently trading, ongoing concern.

The core question of whether Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) was overvalued or undervalued hinges on that acquisition price, but we can still look at the final trailing metrics. The sheer magnitude of the Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio-which compares the share price to its earnings per share-was highly unusual for a regional bank, suggesting a market that was defintely pricing in either a significant turnaround or an acquisition premium.

Here's the quick math on the final, key valuation figures:

The P/B ratio of 0.76 is the most telling figure here. For a bank, trading below 1.0x book value means the market believes the liquidation value of the assets is less than the accounting value, but still, this low P/B likely made the company an attractive target for EverBank.

Looking at the stock price trend, the 12-month performance leading up to the delisting on March 31, 2025, showed a relatively stable but overall flat movement, with a 2025 annual performance cited around 1.68%. The 52-week trading range was tight, moving between a low of $4.40 and a high of $5.97, with the final trading price near $4.84. The acquisition provided a clear exit at a fixed value for shareholders. That range tells the whole story.

In terms of shareholder return, the dividend situation is straightforward: Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) suspended its dividend, so the yield is effectively N/A or $0.00. A bank that is being acquired or is in the process of dissolution will naturally halt shareholder payouts to preserve capital for the transaction or winding-down costs.

Finally, you won't find a current analyst consensus (Buy, Hold, or Sell) for November 2025 because the stock is inactive. The last ratings were well before the acquisition's closing, so they are irrelevant for current action. The market has already made its final decision through the acquisition. To understand the original strategic thinking that led to this sale, you might review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT).

Your next step should be to confirm the final cash distribution per share from the dissolution process, which is the only remaining financial action for former shareholders.

Risk Factors

You need to look at Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) through a different lens now. The biggest risk-and the most important financial event of 2025-is not operational, but transactional. The company's risk profile fundamentally changed with the announcement of the sale of all outstanding shares to EverBank Financial Corp, which was expected to close before the market opened on April 1, 2025.

The company is no longer a growth story; it's a wind-down and distribution story. That means the primary risk is now execution risk in the dissolution process, plus the residual exposure from its legacy loan book.

The Overriding Dissolution Risk

Once the sale closed, Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) began the process of winding down operations and intends to file a certificate of dissolution. Your focus as an investor shifts from Net Interest Margin (NIM) to the final cash distribution amount. The key uncertainty is the total cost of settling all debts, liabilities, and claims before the remaining cash is distributed to shareholders. This is defintely a high-stakes cleanup.

• Final Distribution Uncertainty: The final cash-per-share depends entirely on the wind-down expenses, which are not fully predictable.
• Legacy Asset Risk: The value of remaining assets, particularly the loan portfolio, could be impacted by unexpected credit losses during the wind-down.
• Legal and Regulatory Costs: Unforeseen litigation or regulatory demands could significantly reduce the distributable cash.

To put the prior operating environment in context, the company's Consolidated Net Income for the 2024 fiscal year was only $2.14 million, resulting in Basic Earnings per Share of just $0.04. That low profitability made the sale a strategic necessity. You can read more about the shift in investor base at Exploring Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Pre-Sale Operational and Market Risks

Before the sale, the company faced the same tough environment as other regional banks, and these factors still matter for the quality of the remaining assets being managed during the wind-down. The key risks highlighted in their filings included structural and external pressures.

• Interest Rate Risk: Fluctuations in interest rates, especially the yield curve, directly compress the bank's profitability by affecting the difference between interest earned on loans and paid on deposits.
• Credit Quality: General economic conditions, particularly in the commercial real estate (CRE) and commercial and industrial (C&I) loan sectors where the bank focused after suspending residential originations in early 2023, pose a significant risk to asset recovery values.
• Competition: The industry is highly competitive, facing pressure from larger national banks like JP Morgan Chase & Co., which holds an estimated 22% market share nationally, and from nimble FinTech companies.

Here's a quick look at the 2024 financial context that drove the need for risk mitigation:

The core mitigation strategy was to manage risk through careful underwriting and diversification of the loan portfolio. However, the ultimate mitigation strategy was the sale of the bank itself, which offloaded the ongoing operational and market risks to a new owner.

Actionable Next Step

Your immediate next step is to track all public filings related to the Plan of Dissolution and any subsequent cash distribution announcements. Finance: Monitor SEC filings for distribution updates weekly.

Growth Opportunities

You're looking for a future growth story, but for Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT), the true opportunity for shareholders in 2025 was the successful completion of its strategic exit. The company's future is not about new loans or branch expansion; it's about the final cash distribution to you, the investor.

The primary strategic initiative was the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sterling Bank and Trust, F.S.B., to EverBank Financial Corp for a fixed cash consideration of $261,000,000. This transaction closed on April 1, 2025, and immediately triggered the adoption of a formal Plan of Dissolution. This is the ultimate, near-term catalyst for shareholder return.

Future Revenue and Earnings Estimates: The Liquidation View

Forget traditional revenue growth projections for the 2025 fiscal year; the critical numbers are the liquidating distributions. The company's final action is to distribute its remaining assets-expected to be all cash-to shareholders. Here's the quick math on the initial payout:

• Sale Price of Bank Subsidiary: $261,000,000
• Initial Liquidating Distribution: $4.85 per share
• Total Initial Distribution Amount: Approximately $252 million

The initial distribution of $4.85 per share was paid on April 8, 2025. What this estimate hides is the final, smaller distribution. After the initial payout, Sterling Bancorp retained approximately $16 million in cash to manage the wind-down process and cover all remaining obligations, liabilities, and defense costs. The timing and amount of any final distribution are defintely uncertain, as they depend entirely on how efficiently the company can settle these final matters.

The Final Strategic Initiative and Competitive Edge

The only remaining 'strategic initiative' is the execution of the Plan of Dissolution, which includes delisting the common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market. The company's competitive advantage, ironically, was its strong capital and liquidity position, which allowed it to negotiate a favorable, all-cash sale price of $261 million with EverBank Financial Corp. This strong position was key to maximizing the initial cash return to you.

The company's focus shifted from commercial real estate loans and deposit products to an orderly wind-down, maximizing the cash return to shareholders from the sale proceeds. You can see the foundation of the company's past operations and mission here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (Southfield, MI) (SBT).

The table below summarizes the key transaction details that define the company's final financial health in 2025:

Your action now is simple: track the final distribution. The initial cash is in hand, so the only remaining variable is the size and timing of that final, smaller payout from the remaining $16 million in cash reserves.