Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.13 EPS

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.13, Zacks reports. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 17.52%.

Preferred Bank Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PFBC opened at $106.04 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $100.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.75. Preferred Bank has a 52-week low of $81.50 and a 52-week high of $112.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th were issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 7th. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is currently 29.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Preferred Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 494,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,727,000 after acquiring an additional 16,348 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 356,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,623,000 after purchasing an additional 18,309 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 206,622 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,511,000 after purchasing an additional 33,124 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 105,283 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,189 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 101,932 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,625,000 after buying an additional 28,454 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

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.