Denali Advisors LLC Takes Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,800 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $674,000. Denali Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Preferred Bank as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFBC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,513 shares of the bank's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the third quarter valued at about $366,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 8,183 shares of the bank's stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 28.7% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 16,154 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 62.5% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 31,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 12,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Preferred Bank Stock Up 1.1 %

Preferred Bank stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $88.75. The company had a trading volume of 81,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 79,062. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.97. 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 12 month low of $69.69 and a 12 month high of $99.78. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $87.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.27.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Preferred Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.15%.

Preferred Bank 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.