LSV Asset Management Reduces Stock Holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

LSV Asset Management reduced its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,061 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 34,172 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $11,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Preferred Bank by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 199,628 shares of the bank’s stock worth $17,244,000 after acquiring an additional 61,655 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 24.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,935,000 after purchasing an additional 35,979 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 434,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,540,000 after purchasing an additional 18,868 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 530,029 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,806,000 after buying an additional 12,907 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 352,597 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,300,000 after buying an additional 12,283 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFBC opened at $76.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Preferred Bank has a 1 year low of $70.99 and a 1 year high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 25.00%. Analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.93%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to small and mid-sized businesses and their owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and investors, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; fixed-rate and fixed maturity retail, and non-retail certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.