Brokerages Set Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) PT at $100.50

Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $100.50.

PFBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Monday, December 29th. Brean Capital lowered Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Stephens reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Preferred Bank from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ PFBC opened at $95.72 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.57. Preferred Bank has a 52 week low of $78.30 and a 52 week high of $103.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.16.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $78.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.54 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Research analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.83%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the third quarter worth $70,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 192.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

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.