Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Sells 40,600 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC - Free Report) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 414,530 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,600 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 1.16% of Premier Financial worth $9,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,983,708 shares of the company's stock worth $40,269,000 after buying an additional 10,557 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Premier Financial by 2,017.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 751,923 shares of the company's stock worth $17,655,000 after purchasing an additional 716,406 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Premier Financial by 18.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 656,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,425,000 after purchasing an additional 100,198 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Premier Financial by 66.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,667 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,684,000 after purchasing an additional 129,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 37.0% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 289,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,800,000 after purchasing an additional 78,160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.14% of the company's stock.

Premier Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Premier Financial stock traded down $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $27.81. The stock had a trading volume of 98,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,975. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.62 and a 200 day moving average of $23.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $996.74 million, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.27. Premier Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $18.63 and a twelve month high of $29.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial's payout ratio is presently 62.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier Financial

In related news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,011,309.12. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company's stock.

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.