Two Sigma Investments LP Cuts Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,670 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,612 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.25% of Preferred Bank worth $3,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,129,287 shares of the bank's stock worth $97,548,000 after acquiring an additional 5,114 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 530,029 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,806,000 after purchasing an additional 12,907 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 468,759 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Preferred Bank by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 434,590 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,540,000 after buying an additional 18,868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 360,025 shares of the bank's stock worth $31,105,000 after purchasing an additional 7,428 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PFBC traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $82.94. 4,352 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 87,135. Preferred Bank has a 1 year low of $71.43 and a 1 year high of $99.78. The firm's fifty day moving average is $81.77 and its 200-day moving average is $86.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 0.69.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.10). Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 25.00%. The company had revenue of $65.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $125.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PFBC shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on 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, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th.

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.