Royce & Associates LP Grows Stock Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,823 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,117 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.17% of Preferred Bank worth $2,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 110.7% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 550 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 217.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 562 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. KBC Group NV increased 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. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the third quarter worth $76,000. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFBC opened at $83.94 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $87.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $70.99 and a twelve month high of $99.78. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.57%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PFBC. Stephens reiterated 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 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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.