Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 9,756 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $843,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Preferred Bank as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PFBC. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $674,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 26,222 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 3,516 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,530 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,092,000 after acquiring an additional 2,884 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 223.1% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 14,729 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 10,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted 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, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of PFBC stock traded down $2.79 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $81.11. 89,592 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 79,811. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.42 and a beta of 0.93. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $70.22 and a one year high of $99.78. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $87.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 25.00%. Sell-side analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Preferred Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio is 31.15%.

About Preferred Bank

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.