Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $83.33, but opened at $85.94. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $84.00, with a volume of 4,275 shares changing hands.

The bank reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.07. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The company had revenue of $132.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.71 earnings per share.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is 27.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PFBC shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Preferred Bank from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $54,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 140.0% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank in the third quarter valued at $294,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 69.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dana Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 98,591 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,443,000 after purchasing an additional 6,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $80.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.95.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to small and mid-sized businesses and their owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and investors, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; fixed-rate and fixed maturity retail, and non-retail certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.