Norges Bank Takes $37.65 Million Position in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. $PB

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Prosperity Bancshares, buying 544,708 shares valued at about $37.65 million, or 0.57% of the company.
• Prosperity Bancshares reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 versus $1.41 expected and revenue of $367.62 million, up 19.9% year over year.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, payable July 1, which annualizes to $2.40 per share and yields about 3.4%.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 544,708 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $37,645,000. Norges Bank owned 0.57% of Prosperity Bancshares as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PB. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 34.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 719 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 179.6% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 945 shares of the bank's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.97, for a total transaction of $39,582.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 41,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,737,755. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 14,300 shares of company stock worth $972,475 in the last three months. 3.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $91.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $76.82.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:PB opened at $69.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.56 and a 200-day moving average of $69.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.06 and a 52 week high of $77.20.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $367.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $358.60 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 7.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 6.27 EPS for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Prosperity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.48%.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc is a holding company for Prosperity Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company provides deposit products, business and real estate lending, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, as well as wealth management and trust services.

Originally chartered in 1911 as First National Bank in McKinney, Texas, the organization rebranded to Prosperity Bank in 2009 following a series of strategic acquisitions aimed at deepening its regional presence.

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