Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.31

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of 0.31 per share on Friday, February 7th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st.

Premier Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 5.7% annually over the last three years. Premier Financial has a payout ratio of 51.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Premier Financial to earn $2.15 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.7%.

Premier Financial Price Performance

PFC stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.24. 609,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 195,545. Premier Financial has a 52-week low of $18.63 and a 52-week high of $29.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.07. The company has a market cap of $904.63 million, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Premier Financial will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Premier Financial

In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,309.12. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.