Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Preferred Bank by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, now owning approximately 1.00% of the bank worth $12.08 million.
• Preferred Bank announced a $0.75 quarterly dividend, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 31.71%.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Preferred Bank, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.67.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 144,410 shares of the bank's stock after selling 15,030 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 1.00% of Preferred Bank worth $12,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $117,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Preferred Bank by 10.7% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,779 shares of the bank's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFBC has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on 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 objective on Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.67.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.2%

PFBC stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $95.15. The stock had a trading volume of 43,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 96,669. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.13. Preferred Bank has a 52-week low of $71.90 and a 52-week high of $99.78. 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 (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.09. The company 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 research analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $125.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 8th were paid a $0.75 dividend. 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 is presently 31.71%.

Preferred Bank Company 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.