Wall Street Zen Upgrades Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) to Hold

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on PGC. Raymond James initiated coverage on Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "strong-buy" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ PGC traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.56. The company had a trading volume of 81,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 96,387. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a 52 week low of $20.30 and a 52 week high of $37.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 0.87.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $64.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.07 million. Equities research analysts expect that Peapack-Gladstone Financial will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.91, for a total value of $578,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,263,453.73. This trade represents a 31.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John P. Babcock sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $287,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,126,097.80. The trade was a 20.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,152,650 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.63% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $112,000. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 507.2% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,902 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 4,930 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. 72.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Company Profile

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.