SunTrust's 3Q Net Surges on Investment Gain

Boosted by a sale of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) shares, SunTrust Banks (NYSE:STI) revealed surging third-quarter profits on Monday, but the regional bank’s adjusted results failed to impress shareholders.

Shares of the Atlanta-based lender dropped more than 2% in the aftermath of the results, eating a bit into their huge 2012 gains.

SunTrust said it earned $1.08 billion, compared with a profit of $215 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings soared to $1.98 from 39 cents a year ago. Analysts had been calling for EPS of $1.99.

SunTrust’s results were boosted by the sale of shares in beverage behemoth Coca-Cola, which resulted in a pre-tax securities gain of $1.9 billion. The lender originally planned to sell the shares in 2014 and 2015 but moved up those efforts due to looming regulations on capital requirements.

Revenue surged 75% to $3.84 billion, compared with the Street’s view of $3.83 billion. Excluding one-time items like the share sale, revenue fell 13% to $1.9 billion.

“As we manage through the challenging revenue environment, we remain intensely focused on deepening client relationships and improving efficiency,” CEO William Rogers, Jr. said in a statement.

Like many banks, SunTrust continues to bolster its balance sheet. The company’s Tier 1 common equity ratio rose to 9.8% last quarter from 9.40% at the end of the second quarter.

Also, nonperforming loans tumbled 30% sequentially and represented 1.42% of total loans, compared with 2.76% at the end of the year-before period.

Still, Wall Street reacted negatively to SunTrust’s results, driving the company’s shares 2.86% lower to $27.81 Monday morning. The bar had been set high as SunTrust’s shares have surged more than 60% so far this year.