Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . 65,003 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the previous session’s volume of 109,784 shares.The stock last traded at $105.0940 and had previously closed at $105.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PFBC. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Preferred Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.25.

Preferred Bank Trading Up 1.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $103.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.65.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $73.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.60 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 26.54%. As a group, analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 7th. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is currently 29.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 192.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.