Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $113.33.

A number of research firms have commented on PFBC. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Preferred Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Preferred Bank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on Preferred Bank from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $102.89 on Friday. Preferred Bank has a 52 week low of $81.50 and a 52 week high of $112.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $105.00 and its 200-day moving average is $98.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a PE ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 0.57.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The bank reported $2.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $71.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.10 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 16.84%. Equities research analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 10.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 19th. Investors of record on Monday, October 5th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 5th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank in the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,076 shares of the bank’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Preferred Bank during the 3rd quarter worth $1,088,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Preferred Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,255 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1991, the bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, professionals and individuals, with a particular focus on commercial banking and relationship-based service.

The bank’s principal offerings include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction and residential real estate loans, and consumer lending. Preferred Bank also provides deposit accounts, cash-management services, online banking and other treasury-management solutions for business and personal customers.

Preferred Bank operates a network of full-service branches in California and New York, serving customers in major metropolitan markets including the greater Los Angeles area, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City.