Short Interest in Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) Expands By 16.8%

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,530,000 shares, an increase of 16.8% from the February 13th total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 546,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price target on Pacific Premier Bancorp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of PPBI traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.00. 135,547 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 504,063. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.34. Pacific Premier Bancorp has a 52-week low of $20.52 and a 52-week high of $30.28.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.03. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 17.54%. On average, analysts anticipate that Pacific Premier Bancorp will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.00%. Pacific Premier Bancorp’s payout ratio is 80.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Premier Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPBI. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 22.0% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 234,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,903,000 after acquiring an additional 42,357 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 150,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,145 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,128,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,128,000 after purchasing an additional 14,310 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $784,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $12,187,000. 93.11% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Company Profile

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Premier Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, which includes checking, money market, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial real estate owner and non-owner-occupied, multifamily, construction and land, franchise real estate secured, and small business administration (SBA); revolving lines of credit, term loans, seasonal loans, and loans secured by liquid collateral; one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit loans; and small balance personal unsecured loans and savings account secured loans.