Premier Financial Corp. (PFC) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 on May 10th

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share on Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd.

Premier Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 12.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 3 consecutive years. Premier Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 52.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Premier Financial to earn $2.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.7%.

Premier Financial Stock Performance

PFC traded down $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $20.07. 14,324 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 135,052. Premier Financial has a 52 week low of $13.60 and a 52 week high of $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $718.51 million, a PE ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.40.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $108.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.93 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 23.67% and a return on equity of 9.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Premier Financial will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on PFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down previously from $25.00) on shares of Premier Financial in a research report on Thursday. Hovde Group raised Premier Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.50 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Premier Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at Premier Financial

In other news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $30,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $628,411.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Premier Financial Company 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.