BNP Paribas Financial Markets Lowers Stock Holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

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

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.1% in 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. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Preferred Bank by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 550 shares of the bank's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 16,272 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 5,219 shares of the bank's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson cut their target price on Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. 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. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFBC traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $84.34. The company had a trading volume of 24,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,209. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.91 and a 200-day moving average of $86.52. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.69. Preferred Bank has a 1-year low of $71.43 and a 1-year high of $99.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.78 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.85%.

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

Preferred Bank Profile

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.