Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation $PGC Shares Bought by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation by 6.5%, owning 269,530 shares worth approximately $7.7 million after acquiring an additional 16,390 shares.
• Recent analyst reports have downgraded Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, with the consensus price target now at $36.33, compared to previous estimates.
• CEO Douglas L. Kennedy purchased 3,720 shares of the company at an average price of $26.24 per share, increasing his total ownership to 39,129 shares.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:PGC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 269,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,390 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.53% of Peapack-Gladstone Financial worth $7,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 344.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 43,539 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 33,733 shares during the last quarter. Salzhauer Michael lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 9.3% during the first quarter. Salzhauer Michael now owns 161,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,595,000 after purchasing an additional 13,708 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 6,579.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,427 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 14,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 48,831 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 14,220 shares during the last quarter. 72.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Peapack-Gladstone Financial news, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy acquired 3,720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.24 per share, for a total transaction of $97,612.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 39,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,026,744.96. The trade was a 10.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Peapack-Gladstone Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.33.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Stock Performance

PGC traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $29.01. 79,128 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 99,187. The firm has a market cap of $512.03 million, a PE ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.91. Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation has a twelve month low of $23.96 and a twelve month high of $37.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $69.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.77 million. Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 7.62%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial's dividend payout ratio is 10.93%.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.