Millennium Management LLC Grows Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,702 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 32,990 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned about 1.02% of Preferred Bank worth $12,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Preferred Bank by 274.2% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 90,218 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 66,107 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 44.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 199,628 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,244,000 after purchasing an additional 61,655 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 405.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 36,366 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 29,176 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 261,130 shares of the bank's stock worth $22,815,000 after purchasing an additional 27,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 434,590 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,540,000 after purchasing an additional 18,868 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

Preferred Bank stock traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 39,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,186. Preferred Bank has a 12-month low of $71.43 and a 12-month high of $99.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $81.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.50.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $65.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $125.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th.

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.