Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.05, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $69.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.76 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 26.49%.

Here are the key takeaways from Preferred Bank’s conference call:

• Management placed a nine‑loan relationship on non‑accrual (~$77M) and, while it has sold roughly half of that exposure at par (including $9.4M and $48.5M sales), the remaining loans face bankruptcy/foreclosure risks with resolution expected by Q3.
• Reported Q1 net income of $31.3 million ($2.53/share); net interest margin declined to 3.57% due to a non‑recurring interest reversal, but management expects NIM to rebound to the low‑3.70% range in Q2 (a potential near‑term tailwind).
• Loan growth was modest (+1.1% sequential) and deposits +1.2%, and management says competitive pricing and geopolitical uncertainty have made full‑year loan growth targets more cautious versus prior high‑single‑digit internal guidance.
• Deposit costs have eased to 3.10% (March) but the pace of cost declines is slowing; $1.35B of CDs maturing in Q2 at a 3.89% rate are likely to reprice only slightly lower, limiting margin relief.
• The bank repurchased roughly 400,000 shares at about $89–$90 and the board favors a conservative, flexible capital posture, balancing buybacks with maintaining excess capital.

Preferred Bank Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Preferred Bank stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $94.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 49,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,181. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $78.30 and a twelve month high of $103.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.04 and a 200-day moving average of $92.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 30.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PFBC. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research cut Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Preferred Bank from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 101,932 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,625,000 after purchasing an additional 28,454 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,562 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $1,008,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 7,529 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 2,653 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $437,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

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.