Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Preferred Bank has an average analyst rating of Hold from seven brokers (four hold, three buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $100.50.
• Shares trade around $94.90 with a PE of 9.14 and $1.37B market cap; the bank slightly beat Q4 EPS ($2.79 vs. $2.78) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (annualized yield 3.4%).
• Institutional investors own about 72.77% of the stock, and several large funds (e.g., Charles Schwab, Nuveen, Goldman Sachs) increased their positions in recent quarters.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.50.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PFBC. Stephens reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $100.00 price target for the company.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $94.90 on Wednesday. Preferred Bank has a 1 year low of $77.29 and a 1 year high of $103.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $90.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.14 and a beta of 0.57.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.78 by $0.01. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $78.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is 30.83%.

Institutional Trading of Preferred Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 494,827 shares of the bank's stock valued at $46,727,000 after purchasing an additional 16,348 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 356,065 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,623,000 after purchasing an additional 18,309 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 337,804 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,534,000 after purchasing an additional 45,946 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 206,622 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,511,000 after acquiring an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 199,419 shares of the bank's stock worth $18,831,000 after acquiring an additional 33,157 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank NASDAQ: PFBC is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. The institution offers a full range of banking products and services to businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate lending, business banking, treasury management and deposit accounts. Preferred Bank operates through branch offices across Southern California and national loan production offices in major U.S. markets.

The bank's core lending portfolio focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, development and investment properties.

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