Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 89,276 Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP bought a new position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 89,276 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $6,522,000. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP owned 0.62% of Preferred Bank at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 140.3% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 6,983 shares of the bank's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Preferred Bank in the third quarter valued at $407,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 25.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 112,126 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,980,000 after acquiring an additional 23,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 21.1% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,610 shares of the bank's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.3 %

PFBC stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.35. The stock had a trading volume of 45,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,423. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $42.42 and a one year high of $77.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's 50 day moving average is $72.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.04.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 30.93% and a return on equity of 22.30%. The company had revenue of $127.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 9.13 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Preferred Bank's payout ratio is currently 26.59%.

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 in the United States. 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.