Denali Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 337.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,113 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 26,313 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC owned 0.24% of Preferred Bank worth $2,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Preferred Bank in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter worth $117,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,779 shares of the bank's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PFBC. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target 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.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.5%

Preferred Bank stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.61. The stock had a trading volume of 85,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,257. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.69. Preferred Bank has a 12-month low of $71.90 and a 12-month high of $99.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $86.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.09.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $65.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.78 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 24.87%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $125.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.85%.

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.