Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $85.98, but opened at $82.51. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $80.52, with a volume of 12,054 shares traded.

The bank reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.10). Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 25.00%. The company had revenue of $65.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PFBC shares. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 274.2% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 90,218 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,793,000 after purchasing an additional 66,107 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 199,628 shares of the bank's stock worth $17,244,000 after acquiring an additional 61,655 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 9,482.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,894 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,087,000 after acquiring an additional 36,509 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 24.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,107 shares of the bank's stock valued at $14,935,000 after purchasing an additional 35,979 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 147,702 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,758,000 after buying an additional 32,990 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Preferred Bank Trading Down 1.3 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

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. 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.