Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 2,884 Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,530 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 2,884 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Preferred Bank worth $6,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 10.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,513 shares of the bank's stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 694 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the third quarter valued at $366,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 8,183 shares of the bank's stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 16,154 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 62.5% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 31,726 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,546,000 after acquiring an additional 12,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of PFBC stock traded down $0.68 on Monday, reaching $88.07. 73,764 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 78,929. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50-day moving average of $87.89 and a 200-day moving average of $86.34. The company has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 0.97. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $70.22 and a one year high of $99.78.

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

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. This is an increase from Preferred Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Preferred Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.15%.

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.