Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 126,902 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,773 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned 0.36% of Premier Financial worth $3,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Premier Financial by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 79,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 16,819 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Premier Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $301,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Premier Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 20,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Premier Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $759,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Premier Financial by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,874,000 after buying an additional 46,854 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Price Performance

Shares of PFC opened at $19.75 on Friday. Premier Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $24.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $19.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $707.05 million, a PE ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Premier Financial had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 23.67%. The company had revenue of $108.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.28%. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $30,105.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,411.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Premier Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (down from $25.00) on shares of Premier Financial in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Hovde Group raised Premier Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st.

About Premier Financial

Premier Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking services. It offers demand, checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposits and certificates of deposit account registry service; and investment products. The company also provides residential and commercial real estate, commercial, construction, home improvement and home equity, installment, and consumer loans.