Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 144,630 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the previous session’s volume of 107,993 shares.The stock last traded at $104.8150 and had previously closed at $104.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Preferred Bank Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.05. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 26.49%.The company had revenue of $69.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.76 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 10.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th will be 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, July 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 29.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PFBC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Preferred Bank during the third quarter valued at $70,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter worth $91,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 192.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

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.