Boston Partners Has $43.99 Million Stake in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• Boston Partners reduced its stake in Preferred Bank by 0.9%, now holding 525,122 shares worth approximately $44 million, while institutional investors own a total of 72.77% of the company's stock.
• Preferred Bank reported quarterly earnings of $2.52 per share, exceeding expectations, but its revenue of $69.05 million fell short of analyst estimates.
• The bank announced a $125 million share repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, translating to a 3.2% dividend yield.

Boston Partners decreased its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 525,122 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,907 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned about 3.64% of Preferred Bank worth $43,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFBC. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the 1st quarter valued at $55,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $117,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,779 shares of the bank's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of 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 boosted their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFBC traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.11. 60,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 88,869. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $89.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.04. 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 market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.75. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $71.90 and a twelve month high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.09. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $69.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.96 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is 31.71%.

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