Maxim analyst Michael Diana raised his price target on Sterling Bancorp (STL) to $30 from $28 based on his preliminary pro forma 2018 EPS estimate for the company following its all-stock merger deal with Astoria Financial (AF). The transaction would double Sterling's size and, more importantly, "dramatically" increase its presence in Long Island, an area with very favorable demographics, said Diana. The analyst, who expressed a high degree of confidence in the due diligences and merger integration skills of Sterling's management team, keeps a Buy rating on the stock.