Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Stake Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,573 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,542 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EJF Capital LLC boosted its stake in Premier Financial by 490.8% in the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 158,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,220,000 after purchasing an additional 131,783 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Premier Financial by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,684,000 after purchasing an additional 129,913 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Premier Financial by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 656,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,425,000 after purchasing an additional 100,198 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Premier Financial by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after purchasing an additional 80,217 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Premier Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $860,000. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Premier Financial Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PFC opened at $28.85 on Monday. Premier Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $18.63 and a 1-year high of $29.15. The company has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $25.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.14.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $112.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Premier Financial news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $55,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,309.12. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.50.

About Premier Financial

Premier Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking services. It offers demand, checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposits and certificates of deposit account registry service; and investment products. The company also provides residential and commercial real estate, commercial, construction, home improvement and home equity, installment, and consumer loans.