Deutsche Bank AG Trims Holdings in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has reduced its stake in Preferred Bank by 74.6%, owning 9,248 shares after selling 27,118 during the first quarter.
• Preferred Bank reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.43, though revenue was slightly below estimates.
• Preferred Bank has announced a $125 million share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock may be undervalued.

Deutsche Bank AG lessened its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 74.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,248 shares of the bank's stock after selling 27,118 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.06% of Preferred Bank worth $774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 890,350 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,487,000 after buying an additional 8,074 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 475,025 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,741,000 after buying an additional 40,435 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 468,759 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,491,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 147,702 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,758,000 after buying an additional 32,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Preferred Bank by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,537 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC traded down $0.15 on Thursday, reaching $95.15. 43,361 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,245. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Preferred Bank has a 1-year low of $71.90 and a 1-year high of $99.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.42 and a 200-day moving average of $86.16.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $69.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.96 million. Equities analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a $0.75 dividend. 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 Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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. DA Davidson boosted 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, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.67.

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.