Preferred Bank $PFBC Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,396 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 183 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFBC. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Preferred Bank during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,915,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 257,062 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,506,000 after acquiring an additional 57,434 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 475,025 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,741,000 after buying an additional 40,435 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 66,428 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,557,000 after buying an additional 29,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 337.3% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 34,113 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 26,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFBC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Preferred Bank currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFBC opened at $90.37 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $92.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $71.90 and a one year high of $99.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.71.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.09. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.04%.The firm had revenue of $69.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.96 million. Analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is currently 31.71%.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to small and mid-sized businesses and their owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and investors, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; fixed-rate and fixed maturity retail, and non-retail certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.