Royce & Associates LP Acquires 23,589 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC - Free Report) by 15.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,965 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 23,589 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.50% of Premier Financial worth $4,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Premier Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Premier Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $84,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Premier Financial by 296.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 56.9% in the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,392 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the period. 66.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Premier Financial

In related news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $50,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at $953,231.14. This represents a 4.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Premier Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ PFC traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $27.64. 72,951 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 154,443. The stock has a market cap of $990.65 million, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.25. Premier Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $18.63 and a 12 month high of $29.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $112.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors 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 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Premier Financial currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.50.

Premier Financial 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.