Azora Capital LP Takes Position in Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI)

Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 484,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,187,000. Azora Capital LP owned about 0.50% of Pacific Premier Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PPBI. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 121.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,183 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 93.8% in the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 3,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Premier Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. 93.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wedbush lowered their price objective on Pacific Premier Bancorp from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pacific Premier Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeff C. Jones sold 11,251 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total transaction of $265,748.62. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 123,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,924,014.28. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margaret S. Ohlhaver sold 9,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total value of $259,273.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at $712,281. This represents a 26.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,023 shares of company stock worth $1,245,713 in the last 90 days. 2.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of PPBI stock traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.11. The stock had a trading volume of 744,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 544,476. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $26.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. has a one year low of $20.52 and a one year high of $30.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a PE ratio of -189.32 and a beta of 1.21.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $224.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $153.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Pacific Premier Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -879.94%.

About Pacific Premier Bancorp

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.