Preferred Bank $PFBC Stock Position Lowered by Jump Financial LLC

Key Points

• Jump Financial LLC reduced its stake in Preferred Bank by 37.5%, selling 3,428 shares and holding 5,720 shares valued at $479,000.
• Preferred Bank's stock received upgrades from analysts, with DA Davidson raising its price target from $90 to $108 and Piper Sandler increasing it from $96 to $112.
• The bank announced a $125 million share repurchase plan and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, indicating commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Jump Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 37.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,720 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,428 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFBC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,106 shares of the bank's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,488 shares of the bank's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 2,724 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,828 shares of the bank's stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 23.8% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,332 shares of the bank's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 51.4% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 3,842 shares of the bank's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PFBC. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Preferred Bank presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

Shares of PFBC traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.76. 46,364 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,648. The business's 50-day moving average price is $92.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.12 and a beta of 0.78. Preferred Bank has a 12 month low of $71.90 and a 12 month high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $69.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.96 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.04%. Equities analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $125.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is currently 31.71%.

Preferred Bank 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.