Vest Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. $PB

Key Points

• Vest Financial initiated a new position in Prosperity Bancshares, buying 22,466 shares in Q4 worth about $1.55 million, while institutional investors now own roughly 80.7% of the company.
• Prosperity beat estimates for the latest quarter with EPS of $1.50 (vs. $1.41 est.) and revenue of $367.6 million (up 19.9% year-over-year), and analysts project about 6.19 EPS for the current year.
• The bank pays a quarterly dividend of $0.60 ($2.40 annualized, ~3.4% yield), trades near $69.72 with a P/E of 12.6, and holds a consensus analyst rating of "Hold" with a $78.38 target price.

Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 22,466 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,553,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 34.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 719 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on PB. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $91.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.38.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:PB opened at $69.72 on Friday. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.06 and a 52-week high of $77.20. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The bank reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.09. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 29.50% and a return on equity of 7.20%. The business had revenue of $367.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $358.60 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Prosperity Bancshares's revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Prosperity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.88%.

Insider Transactions at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.59, for a total value of $34,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 78,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,470,817.85. This trade represents a 0.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,200 shares of company stock valued at $914,669. Company insiders own 3.96% of the company's stock.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc is a holding company for Prosperity Bank, offering a broad range of commercial and consumer banking services across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company provides deposit products, business and real estate lending, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, as well as wealth management and trust services.

Originally chartered in 1911 as First National Bank in McKinney, Texas, the organization rebranded to Prosperity Bank in 2009 following a series of strategic acquisitions aimed at deepening its regional presence.

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