Dennis E. Rose, Jr. Sells 2,000 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Stock

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,144 shares in the company, valued at $1,011,309.12. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Premier Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:PFC opened at $27.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $985.60 million, a P/E ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.02. Premier Financial Corp. has a one year low of $18.63 and a one year high of $29.15.

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

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Premier Financial by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after buying an additional 30,334 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Premier Financial by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,199,000 after acquiring an additional 7,461 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Premier Financial by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,055,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,780,000 after acquiring an additional 35,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Premier Financial by 23.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 12,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 2,395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

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.