American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 57,434 Shares of Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 28.8%, owning approximately 1.78% of the bank, valued at $21.5 million.
• Preferred Bank reported $2.52 EPS for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and reflecting a net margin of 25.04%.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.2% and has authorized a $125 million share buyback plan.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 28.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 257,062 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 57,434 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.78% of Preferred Bank worth $21,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Preferred Bank by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 890,350 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,487,000 after purchasing an additional 8,074 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Preferred Bank by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 475,025 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,741,000 after purchasing an additional 40,435 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in Preferred Bank by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 468,759 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Preferred Bank in the 1st quarter worth $33,915,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Preferred Bank by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 261,130 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,815,000 after purchasing an additional 27,760 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PFBC traded down $0.40 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $94.91. 17,135 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 96,503. Preferred Bank has a 12-month low of $71.90 and a 12-month high of $99.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.75.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.09. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The company had revenue of $69.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.96 million. As a group, analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $125.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is currently 31.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFBC. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Preferred Bank currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

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.