StockNews.com Upgrades Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) to “Hold”

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday.

PB has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.35.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 0.8 %

Prosperity Bancshares stock opened at $64.72 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $72.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.63. Prosperity Bancshares has a 12-month low of $57.16 and a 12-month high of $86.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 6.64%. As a group, analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total transaction of $39,505.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 108,315 shares in the company, valued at $8,557,968.15. The trade was a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 5,500 shares of company stock worth $408,695 in the last quarter. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 487.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 368.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 349.5% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 917 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.