Preferred Bank $PFBC Shares Sold by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Preferred Bank by 2.9%, now owning 1.18% of the bank which is valued at approximately $14.2 million.
• Preferred Bank reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.52 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.43, despite a revenue of $69.05 million that fell short of estimates.
• The bank recently announced a $125 million share buyback plan, indicating its board believes the shares are undervalued, alongside a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share with a yield of 3.2%.

Northern Trust Corp lessened its stake in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,047 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,127 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.18% of Preferred Bank worth $14,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

PFBC opened at $94.25 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $92.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Preferred Bank has a 1-year low of $71.90 and a 1-year high of $99.78.

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

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

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

Preferred Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are 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.

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