Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Strong Earnings

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 58,365 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 47% from the previous session’s volume of 109,819 shares.The stock last traded at $107.6050 and had previously closed at $106.04.

The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.13. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 26.49%.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFBC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Preferred Bank presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Preferred Bank by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 494,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,727,000 after buying an additional 16,348 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 356,065 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,623,000 after acquiring an additional 18,309 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 206,622 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,511,000 after purchasing an additional 33,124 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 199,419 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,831,000 after purchasing an additional 33,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Preferred Bank by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 171,757 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,606,000 after purchasing an additional 27,169 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Trading Up 0.9%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. The institution offers a full range of banking products and services to businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate lending, business banking, treasury management and deposit accounts. Preferred Bank operates through branch offices across Southern California and national loan production offices in major U.S. markets.

The bank’s core lending portfolio focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, development and investment properties.