Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $1.41 Million in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 16,285 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,407,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Preferred Bank at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 21,261 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 5,098 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 468,759 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 147,702 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,758,000 after purchasing an additional 32,990 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,064 shares of the bank's stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 405.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 36,366 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 29,176 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ PFBC remained flat at $83.84 on Friday. 90,642 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 87,569. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $71.43 and a twelve month high of $99.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $81.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 0.69.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.10). Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $65.96 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

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

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is currently 31.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

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.