T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Has $96.13 Million Stake in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 1.7%, now owning approximately 7.96% of the bank, valued at $96.1 million.
• Preferred Bank has recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.00 and a dividend yield of 3.3%.
• Analysts have varying opinions on Preferred Bank, with target prices ranging from $91.00 to $112.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,148,984 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 19,697 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 7.96% of Preferred Bank worth $96,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PFBC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 12.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 10,106 shares of the bank's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 40.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,488 shares of the bank's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 6,828 shares of the bank's stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 23.8% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,332 shares of the bank's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 51.4% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 3,842 shares of the bank's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC traded up $0.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.15. 23,383 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 96,732. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $71.90 and a twelve month high of $99.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $90.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.06.

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

Preferred Bank declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to buyback $125.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PFBC. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $96.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.67.

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.