Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB)

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $85.00 price target on the bank's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on PB. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens raised their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James upped their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Hovde Group cut their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.80.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

PB stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.80. The company had a trading volume of 551,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,358. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.89 and a 200-day moving average of $74.90. Prosperity Bancshares has a one year low of $57.16 and a one year high of $86.76. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.70.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $306.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.17 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.18 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Prosperity Bancshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.19%.

Insider Transactions at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.89, for a total value of $42,534.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,239,673. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 6,600 shares of company stock worth $460,409 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Prosperity Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PB. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 282,920 shares of the bank's stock worth $21,128,000 after acquiring an additional 10,589 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,281 shares of the bank's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 147,231 shares of the bank's stock valued at $11,094,000 after purchasing an additional 6,902 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,784 shares of the bank's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 31,013 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.