Kennedy Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 274.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,218 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 66,107 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.63% of Preferred Bank worth $7,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PFBC. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,674 shares of the bank's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 550 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 16,272 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Preferred Bank by 217.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 562 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Preferred Bank Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:PFBC traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.66. The stock had a trading volume of 32,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 82,636. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $70.99 and a one year high of $99.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.18 and a 200 day moving average of $86.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Preferred Bank Profile

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.