GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 36,509 Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 9,482.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,894 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 36,509 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.26% of Preferred Bank worth $3,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 550 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Preferred Bank by 217.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 562 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 2.9%

PFBC stock traded down $2.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $81.75. The company had a trading volume of 100,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.70. Preferred Bank has a 52 week low of $71.90 and a 52 week high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.23 earnings per share 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 prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFBC. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $91.00 target price 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.