Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott

Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $100.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Preferred Bank from $121.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Preferred Bank has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of PFBC stock opened at $89.07 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $93.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 0.65. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $71.90 and a twelve month high of $103.05.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.01. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm had revenue of $78.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.54 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 6th were issued a $3.20 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 336.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 6th. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is currently 30.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 2.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,266 shares of the bank’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 25,931 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,169,000 after buying an additional 4,158 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 81.0% during 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 during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,581 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 36,363.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,011 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

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.