Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 837,897 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 31,734 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Preferred Bank worth $79,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Preferred Bank by 675.6% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 24,417 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,395,000 after acquiring an additional 21,269 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the third quarter valued at about $3,091,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 65.0% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 27,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,524,000 after buying an additional 10,998 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 15.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 337,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,534,000 after buying an additional 45,946 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 36.1% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 31,322 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $91.07 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $91.91 and a 200 day moving average of $92.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.53 and a beta of 0.56. Preferred Bank has a 1-year low of $79.60 and a 1-year high of $103.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $69.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.76 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 26.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th were given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFBC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Brean Capital cut Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank 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.