Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) EVP Sells $55,960.00 in Stock

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,309.12. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Premier Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

PFC traded down $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $27.48. The company had a trading volume of 46,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 153,962. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Premier Financial Corp. has a one year low of $18.63 and a one year high of $29.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $24.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.99. The company has a market capitalization of $984.91 million, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.25.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is 62.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Premier Financial during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $84,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Premier Financial by 296.8% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,847 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its holdings in Premier Financial by 56.9% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,043 shares during the period. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Premier Financial

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.