MONTEBELLO, N.Y. (AP) _ Sterling Bancorp (STL) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $106.7 million.

The bank, based in Montebello, New York, said it had earnings of 52 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 54 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 53 cents per share.

The bank holding company posted revenue of $327.9 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $264.1 million, also topping Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $261.6 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $427 million, or $2.03 per share. Revenue was reported as $1.06 billion.

Sterling Bancorp shares have decreased roughly 3% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $20.48, a rise of 11% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on STL at https://www.zacks.com/ap/STL

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News