Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a "sell" rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Separately, DA Davidson cut shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Pacific Premier Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.25.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of PPBI traded up $0.58 on Tuesday, reaching $21.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,021,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 634,494. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.76 and a 200 day moving average of $24.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 1.18. Pacific Premier Bancorp has a twelve month low of $18.06 and a twelve month high of $30.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $144.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $143.25 million. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 5.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pacific Premier Bancorp will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Edward Earl Wilcox sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $294,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,844,939.24. This trade represents a 9.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Premier Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPBI. Jacobs Asset Management LLC raised its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 84,154 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,658 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 11.0% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,501 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 2.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 25,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.11% of the company's stock.

About Pacific Premier Bancorp

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Premier Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, which includes checking, money market, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial real estate owner and non-owner-occupied, multifamily, construction and land, franchise real estate secured, and small business administration (SBA); revolving lines of credit, term loans, seasonal loans, and loans secured by liquid collateral; one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit loans; and small balance personal unsecured loans and savings account secured loans.