JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 49,367 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 653,065 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 49,367 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.82% of Premier Financial worth $15,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Premier Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,573 shares of the company's stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 4,542 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Premier Financial by 10.3% in 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 stake in shares of Premier Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,387 shares of the company's stock worth $20,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in 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. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Premier Financial by 17.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,199,000 after buying an additional 7,461 shares during the period. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value 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 approximately $1,011,309.12. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company's stock.

Premier Financial Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PFC traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.81. 211,938 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 173,256. Premier Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $18.63 and a 12 month high of $29.63. The company has a market capitalization of $853.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.79.

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). Premier Financial had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 16.06%. The business had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial's dividend payout ratio is 62.94%.

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.