Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on PB. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stephens upped their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PB opened at $71.34 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $76.58 and its 200 day moving average is $76.21. Prosperity Bancshares has a 12 month low of $57.16 and a 12 month high of $86.76. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. On average, research analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 45.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total value of $38,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 110,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,388,352.60. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $418,095. 4.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PB. Prospector Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 228,992 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,503,000 after acquiring an additional 45,177 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter valued at about $372,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 418.0% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 111,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,039,000 after purchasing an additional 90,015 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 4.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 113,293 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,165,000 after purchasing an additional 4,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 282,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $21,128,000 after buying an additional 10,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.