Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . Approximately 107,120 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 3% from the previous session’s volume of 110,071 shares.The stock last traded at $106.2020 and had previously closed at $107.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PFBC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Preferred Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.94 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.16.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.05. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 26.49%.The business had revenue of $69.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.76 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Preferred Bank by 192.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Preferred Bank

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.