Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC - Free Report) by 32.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 383,616 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 94,000 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 1.07% of Premier Financial worth $9,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 8.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 653,065 shares of the company's stock worth $15,334,000 after buying an additional 49,367 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Premier Financial by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,573 shares of the company's stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,542 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,598 shares of the company's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Premier Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 60.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 30,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.14% of the company's stock.

Premier Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFC opened at $25.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average is $26.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $901.02 million, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.28. Premier Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $18.63 and a fifty-two week high of $29.63.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $112.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 16.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.94%.

Insider Activity at Premier Financial

In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,011,309.12. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Premier Financial

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.