Jump Financial LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Preferred Bank $PFBC

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 lessened its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 37.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,720 shares of the bank's stock after selling 3,428 shares during the quarter. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $117,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,779 shares of the bank's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on PFBC shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Preferred Bank stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 133,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,727. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.78. Preferred Bank has a 1-year low of $71.90 and a 1-year high of $99.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.30.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $69.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.96 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.04%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.71%.

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

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.