Brean Capital Downgrades Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) to Hold

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Brean Capital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PFBC. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Preferred Bank in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $121.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Preferred Bank stock opened at $91.14 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.78 and a beta of 0.65. Preferred Bank has a 1 year low of $71.90 and a 1 year high of $103.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 288.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 40,612.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 52,112 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,896,000 after buying an additional 51,984 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted 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 worth $30,534,000 after buying an additional 45,946 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,091,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 199,419 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,831,000 after acquiring an additional 33,157 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.