Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Price Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Preferred Bank shares moved above their 200-day moving average, reaching $102.56 and closing near $101.91, compared with the $97.98 200-day average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Stephens raised its price target to $110 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating. Overall, analysts assign the stock a “Hold” rating with an average target of $106.25.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $2.78, beating estimates by $0.13, and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, equivalent to a 3.1% annualized yield.

Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $97.98 and traded as high as $102.56. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $101.91, with a volume of 101,562 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PFBC. Stephens lifted their price target on Preferred Bank from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.25.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.32 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.98.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.13. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.54% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The business had revenue of $73.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.60 million. Equities research analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Preferred Bank during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the second quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the third quarter worth $70,000. 72.77% of the stock is currently 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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