Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.15 and last traded at $29.03, with a volume of 16330 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.43.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.50.

Premier Financial Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. The firm had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is 62.94%.

Insider Activity at Premier Financial

In related news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $50,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $953,231.14. This represents a 4.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Premier Financial in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Premier Financial in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Premier Financial in the second quarter worth about $84,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Premier Financial by 296.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in Premier Financial by 56.9% in the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the period. 66.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Premier Financial Company Profile

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.