Trexquant Investment LP Invests $611,000 in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,069 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PFBC. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,674 shares of the bank’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Preferred Bank by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 110.7% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 550 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Preferred Bank by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 16,272 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 217.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Preferred Bank stock opened at $76.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92 and a beta of 0.71. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $70.99 and a one year high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 31.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFBC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

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.