Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $103.10 and last traded at $102.84, with a volume of 60128 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $101.78.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PFBC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 0.56.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.05. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The firm had revenue of $69.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.76 million. Analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Preferred Bank by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,266 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 25,931 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 4,158 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Preferred Bank by 81.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 66,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 29,729 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 148.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 14,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 8,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. The institution offers a full range of banking products and services to businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate lending, business banking, treasury management and deposit accounts. Preferred Bank operates through branch offices across Southern California and national loan production offices in major U.S. markets.

The bank’s core lending portfolio focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, development and investment properties.