Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "strong-buy" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PGC traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $28.30. 55,805 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 94,332. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a 52-week low of $20.61 and a 52-week high of $37.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $501.93 million, a PE ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.86. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $27.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.59.

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

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 8th. Peapack-Gladstone Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.91, for a total transaction of $578,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,263,453.73. This represents a 31.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John P. Babcock sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $287,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,126,097.80. This trade represents a 20.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,152,650 over the last 90 days. 7.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,117,333 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,811,000 after buying an additional 10,221 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 937,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,037,000 after purchasing an additional 62,803 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 781,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,046,000 after purchasing an additional 17,220 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 656,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,642,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 19.7% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 592,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,832,000 after purchasing an additional 97,349 shares in the last quarter. 72.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Company Profile

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.