Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 5.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,367 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,278 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $3,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 69.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 848 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Preferred Bank by 96.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Preferred Bank by 35.1% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,486 shares of the bank’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of PFBC stock opened at $93.27 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.01. Preferred Bank has a 12 month low of $61.24 and a 12 month high of $97.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.94.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $132.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.80 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 19.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens increased their price target on Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Preferred Bank from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

About Preferred Bank

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.