Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on PGC. Raymond James started coverage on Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of PGC stock traded up $0.85 on Thursday, reaching $27.72. 51,158 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 97,236. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a 12-month low of $20.30 and a 12-month high of $37.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $491.64 million, a P/E ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average price is $27.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.22.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.08). Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $64.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.07 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Peapack-Gladstone Financial will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Peapack-Gladstone Financial

In other news, EVP John P. Babcock sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $287,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,126,097.80. This represents a 20.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.79, for a total value of $143,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 40,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,163,375.11. This represents a 11.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock worth $1,152,650. 7.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $112,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 507.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 4,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.75% of the company's stock.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.