Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Preferred Bank reported quarterly EPS of $2.53, beating estimates by $0.05, but revenue missed at $69.62 million versus a $71.76 million consensus; the bank posted a net margin of 26.41% and ROE of 17.31%.
• The board paid a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share (annualized $3.20), implying a 3.4% yield and a payout ratio of about 30.8%.
• Shares trade around $93.61 with a market cap of $1.35 billion and a P/E of 9.02, and analysts carry a consensus rating of "Hold" with a $100.50 target.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The bank reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.05, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $69.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.76 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 17.31%.

Preferred Bank Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $93.61 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $90.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.27. Preferred Bank has a 1 year low of $78.30 and a 1 year high of $103.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.57.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 7th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 30.83%.

Institutional Trading of Preferred Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 288.4% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 74,636 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,746,000 after purchasing an additional 55,418 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 206,622 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,511,000 after purchasing an additional 33,124 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in Preferred Bank by 572.5% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 38,750 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,659,000 after purchasing an additional 32,988 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Preferred Bank by 1,143.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 33,569 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 30,869 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 81.0% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 66,428 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,557,000 after buying an additional 29,729 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFBC shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Preferred Bank from $111.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Brean Capital cut shares of Preferred Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $100.50.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

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.