Empirical Finance LLC Grows Stake in Ponce Financial Group, Inc. $PDLB

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Ponce Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLB) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 247,389 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,176 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Ponce Financial Group were worth $4,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M3F Inc. boosted its stake in Ponce Financial Group by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 2,003,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,486,000 after purchasing an additional 147,979 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ponce Financial Group by 0.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,113,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,369,000 after buying an additional 10,221 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Ponce Financial Group by 2.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 939,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,692,000 after acquiring an additional 25,634 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Ponce Financial Group by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 242,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,046,000 after acquiring an additional 21,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mangrove Partners IM LLC lifted its stake in Ponce Financial Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Mangrove Partners IM LLC now owns 191,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,128,000 after purchasing an additional 11,645 shares in the last quarter. 64.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PDLB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Ponce Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Ponce Financial Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ponce Financial Group from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, New Street Research set a $24.00 target price on shares of Ponce Financial Group in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Ponce Financial Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PDLB opened at $20.20 on Friday. Ponce Financial Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.71 and a 1-year high of $20.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $488.64 million, a P/E ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $19.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.74.

Ponce Financial Group (NASDAQ:PDLB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $30.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.70 million. Ponce Financial Group had a net margin of 15.74% and a return on equity of 10.09%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ponce Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.53 EPS for the current year.

About Ponce Financial Group

Ponce Financial Group, Inc (NASDAQ: PDLB) is a bank holding company based in Puerto Rico. Through its primary subsidiary, Banco Ponce, the company offers a range of commercial and retail banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses and corporate clients across the island.

The company’s core business activities include deposit-taking, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination and servicing, and treasury management solutions. In addition to traditional banking products, Ponce Financial Group provides cash management, electronic banking and wealth management services designed to support the financial needs of its diverse client base.

Ponce Financial Group operates exclusively in Puerto Rico, serving both urban and rural communities through its branch network.