Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Short Interest Update

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 234,800 shares, a decrease of 63.3% from the October 15th total of 639,300 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 164,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Insider Transactions at Premier Financial

In related news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $50,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total transaction of $35,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,272.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $50,020.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Premier Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Premier Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Premier Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Premier Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $84,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 296.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,847 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its position in shares of Premier Financial by 56.9% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reissued 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.50.

Premier Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

PFC traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.39. 46,352 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 155,018. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Premier Financial has a 12-month low of $18.63 and a 12-month high of $29.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.38 and a 200 day moving average of $22.71.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Premier Financial will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is 62.94%.

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.