Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) Coverage Initiated at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen began coverage on shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI - Free Report) in a research note released on Thursday. The firm issued a sell rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Separately, DA Davidson lowered Pacific Premier Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pacific Premier Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.25.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ PPBI traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $21.55. 787,722 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 649,246. The company has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.73. 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 has a 12-month low of $18.06 and a 12-month high of $30.28.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $144.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $143.25 million. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 17.54%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Pacific Premier Bancorp will post 1.34 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Pacific Premier Bancorp's payout ratio is 86.84%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Premier Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PPBI. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 488.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 8,794.4% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,601 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 47.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 158.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 729.4% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,655 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Company Profile

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.