Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,270 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,048 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.39% of Preferred Bank worth $4,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 550 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 217.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 562 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

PFBC stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $83.84. The company had a trading volume of 62,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,424. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.69. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $71.43 and a one year high of $99.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $81.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.48.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $65.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.78 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is 31.85%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFBC shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

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.