Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $83.85 and traded as high as $85.73. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $85.33, with a volume of 82,987 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens cut Preferred Bank from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.80 and a 200 day moving average of $83.85.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $132.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.80 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 19.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Preferred Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.06%.

Institutional Trading of Preferred Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 24.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,107 shares of the bank's stock worth $14,935,000 after acquiring an additional 35,979 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Preferred Bank by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 77,745 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,869,000 after purchasing an additional 15,391 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its stake in Preferred Bank by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 41,034 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 352,597 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,300,000 after buying an additional 12,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 62.5% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 31,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 12,197 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.