Azora Capital LP Increases Stock Position in Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI)

Azora Capital LP increased its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI - Free Report) by 54.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 747,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 263,383 shares during the quarter. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.78% of Pacific Premier Bancorp worth $18,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Pacific Premier Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $8,720,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $7,798,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,246,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $55,990,000 after buying an additional 241,881 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 142.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 364,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,086,000 after buying an additional 214,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 537,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,382,000 after acquiring an additional 199,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPBI traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $20.74. 1,070,126 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 633,152. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $20.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.18. Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.06 and a 52-week high of $30.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 5.43%. The firm had revenue of $144.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 5th. Pacific Premier Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PPBI. DA Davidson downgraded Pacific Premier Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "sell" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Premier Bancorp

In other news, COO Edward Earl Wilcox sold 14,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $294,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 140,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,844,939.24. The trade was a 9.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.29% of the company's stock.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Company Profile

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Premier Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, which includes checking, money market, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial real estate owner and non-owner-occupied, multifamily, construction and land, franchise real estate secured, and small business administration (SBA); revolving lines of credit, term loans, seasonal loans, and loans secured by liquid collateral; one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit loans; and small balance personal unsecured loans and savings account secured loans.