BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $758,000 Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,773 shares of the bank's stock after selling 4,384 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.06% of Preferred Bank worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PFBC. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,699 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,170,000 after buying an additional 16,820 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 17.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 3,495 shares of the bank's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,129,287 shares of the bank's stock worth $97,548,000 after purchasing an additional 5,114 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,257 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 3,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.98. 7,111 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,796. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.50. Preferred Bank has a 12 month low of $71.43 and a 12 month high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.33 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $65.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.78 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 25.00%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is presently 31.85%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PFBC. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a report 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.