Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen has upgraded Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating, indicating a more favorable outlook for the stock.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has reduced its price target for the stock from $38.00 to $35.00, while maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Peapack-Gladstone Financial reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.45 for the last quarter, missing expectations by $0.16, with a total revenue of $69.74 million.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.33.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PGC traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.46. 102,806 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,742. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $519.97 million, a PE ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.92. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a one year low of $23.96 and a one year high of $37.88. The company's 50 day moving average is $27.84 and its 200 day moving average is $28.01.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $69.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.77 million. Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a net margin of 7.62% and a return on equity of 5.25%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Peapack-Gladstone Financial will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Peapack-Gladstone Financial

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy purchased 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.24 per share, for a total transaction of $97,612.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 39,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,026,744.96. This represents a 10.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 194.2% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 25,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 17,027 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 18.5% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 15,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 8.7% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 17,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the second quarter worth $309,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 2.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 45,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,286,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter. 72.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

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.