Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Position in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Preferred Bank by 17.2%, owning 13,912 shares worth approximately $1.16 million after selling 2,882 shares.
• A number of institutional investors have increased their holdings in Preferred Bank, with 72.77% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Preferred Bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,912 shares of the bank's stock after selling 2,882 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Preferred Bank worth $1,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFBC. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 7,848 shares of the bank's stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,826 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 71,955 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Preferred Bank by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,219 shares of the bank's stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Preferred Bank by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 9,148 shares of the bank's stock worth $790,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Trading Down 0.3%

PFBC traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $90.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 37,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,452. Preferred Bank has a fifty-two week low of $71.90 and a fifty-two week high of $99.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.75. The business's 50-day moving average is $90.01 and its 200-day moving average is $86.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

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

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is 31.71%.

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

About Preferred Bank

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.