Picton Mahoney Asset Management Increases Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Preferred Bank by an astonishing 2,337.8% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 13,408 shares worth approximately $1.12 million.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Preferred Bank, with Piper Sandler setting a new target of $112.00 and DA Davidson at $108.00, reflecting positive sentiment towards the bank’s stock.
• The bank announced a $125 million stock buyback plan on May 22nd, indicating that its board considers shares to be undervalued, alongside a recent quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 2,337.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,408 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 12,858 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management owned 0.09% of Preferred Bank worth $1,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.1% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,828 shares of the bank's stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 10,412 shares of the bank's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 9,148 shares of the bank's stock valued at $790,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,064 shares of the bank's stock worth $610,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 10.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,779 shares of the bank's stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 217,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,429. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.74 and a 200 day moving average of $85.67. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $71.90 and a twelve month high of $99.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is presently 31.71%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PFBC shares. DA Davidson upped 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 increased their price objective on Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th.

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.