Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 410,030 Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 410,030 shares of Preferred Bank, totaling approximately $33.9 million, representing about 2.84% ownership of the bank.
• Preferred Bank's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.52, surpassing estimates, while a $0.75 dividend was recently paid, offering an annual yield of 3.3%.
• Research analysts raised their price targets for Preferred Bank, with Piper Sandler increasing their target from $96 to $112 and DA Davidson from $90 to $108.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 410,030 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $33,915,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 2.84% of Preferred Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PFBC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 9.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 475,025 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,741,000 after acquiring an additional 40,435 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 9,482.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,894 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 36,509 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 147,702 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,758,000 after acquiring an additional 32,990 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 405.8% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 36,366 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 29,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 11.9% during the fourth 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 period. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PFBC. DA Davidson raised their target price on Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.3%

Preferred Bank stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $90.82. The stock had a trading volume of 37,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 86,452. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Preferred Bank has a fifty-two week low of $71.90 and a fifty-two week high of $99.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $90.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a PE ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 0.75.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.09. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 25.04%.The firm had revenue of $69.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.96 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.71%.

Preferred Bank declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $125.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to reacquire up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.