Bank of New York Mellon Corp Decreases Stock Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 137,311 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,522 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.95% of Preferred Bank worth $11,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,106 shares of the bank's stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,488 shares of the bank's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 71,955 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,828 shares of the bank's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 3,842 shares of the bank's stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PFBC traded down $2.70 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $94.13. 68,973 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 93,836. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $86.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.38. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $71.90 and a one year high of $99.78. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.69.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.96 million. On average, analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFBC. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note 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.