Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Preferred Bank shares passed above their 200-day moving average
• Analyst coverage is mixed: the consensus rating is a "Hold" with a $102 average price target, though Piper Sandler recently raised its target to $111 while other firms range from Buy to Hold.
• Fundamentals show a recent EPS beat ($2.53 vs. $2.48), a low P/E of 8.87, a market cap of $1.37B, and a quarterly dividend of $0.80 (about a 3.4% yield) with a 29.96% payout ratio.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $92.47 and traded as high as $95.42. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $94.73, with a volume of 135,254 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Preferred Bank in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reissued a "positive" rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Brean Capital lowered Preferred Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $91.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $92.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $69.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.76 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 26.49%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 10.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is 29.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Preferred Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 192.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the bank's stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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