Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $93.19 and traded as high as $96.64. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $95.30, with a volume of 69,837 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PFBC shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Preferred Bank from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.67.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.19. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The bank reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.27. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 25.67%.The business had revenue of $74.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.74 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $3.20 per share. This represents a yield of 336.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 6th. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the third quarter worth about $70,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 16.2% in the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 350.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,316 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

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.