Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 110.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 550 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Preferred Bank by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 592,566 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Preferred Bank by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 434,590 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,540,000 after purchasing an additional 18,868 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Preferred Bank by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 352,597 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,300,000 after purchasing an additional 12,283 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Preferred Bank by 24.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,935,000 after purchasing an additional 35,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Preferred Bank by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,884 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

PFBC stock opened at $83.16 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.93. Preferred Bank has a 12 month low of $70.22 and a 12 month high of $99.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.61.

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

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from Preferred Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is presently 31.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PFBC. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 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.