JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 18,523 Shares of Preferred Bank $PFBC

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,476 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,523 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.30% of Preferred Bank worth $3,930,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Preferred Bank by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 337,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,534,000 after purchasing an additional 45,946 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Preferred Bank by 2.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 105,283 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Preferred Bank by 288.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 74,636 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,746,000 after purchasing an additional 55,418 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 26.1% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 73,478 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,642,000 after purchasing an additional 15,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maltese Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 3.6% during the third quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 72,500 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $91.19 on Friday. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $71.90 and a one year high of $103.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.20 and a 200-day moving average of $92.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $78.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 30.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFBC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on Preferred Bank in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. Stephens reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Brean Capital downgraded Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research lowered Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.50.

Preferred Bank 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.