Bridgeway Capital Management LLC Has $3.37 Million Holdings in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Preferred Bank by 32.0%, selling 18,960 shares, and now owns approximately 0.28% of the bank valued at $3.37 million.
• Preferred Bank announced a stock buyback program authorizing up to $125 million, which indicates the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75, yielding 3.2%, with a dividend payout ratio of 31.71%.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,238 shares of the bank's stock after selling 18,960 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Preferred Bank worth $3,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Preferred Bank during the first quarter worth $55,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the fourth quarter worth $117,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of PFBC traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $94.56. 66,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 62,707. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 0.78. The firm's fifty day moving average is $92.97 and its 200 day moving average is $86.49. Preferred Bank has a fifty-two week low of $71.90 and a fifty-two week high of $99.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.09. The business 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 anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 8th. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.71%.

Preferred Bank announced that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFBC. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.67.

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.