Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Announces Earnings Results

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.01, Zacks reports. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 25.67%.

Preferred Bank Stock Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $99.15 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Preferred Bank has a fifty-two week low of $71.90 and a fifty-two week high of $103.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.66.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th were issued a $3.20 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 336.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 6th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Preferred Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 350.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,316 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Preferred Bank in the third quarter valued at about $275,000. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. The institution offers a full range of banking products and services to businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate lending, business banking, treasury management and deposit accounts. Preferred Bank operates through branch offices across Southern California and national loan production offices in major U.S. markets.

The bank’s core lending portfolio focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, development and investment properties.