Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $106.25.

PFBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Friday, September 4th. Stephens increased their target price on Preferred Bank from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Preferred Bank by 86.8% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 20,539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,863,000 after purchasing an additional 9,546 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 18.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 171,757 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,606,000 after purchasing an additional 27,169 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Preferred Bank during the second quarter valued at about $12,352,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Preferred Bank in the first quarter worth about $453,000. Finally, Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter worth about $1,754,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

Shares of PFBC stock opened at $105.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $104.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.65. Preferred Bank has a 52 week low of $81.50 and a 52 week high of $112.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64 and a beta of 0.54.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $73.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.60 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.54% and a return on equity of 17.27%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 10.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 5th will be given a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 5th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.25%.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. Founded in 1991, the bank provides banking and financial services to businesses, professionals and individuals, with a particular focus on small and middle-market companies and the Chinese-American community.

The bank offers commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, small business lending, residential mortgage loans and consumer credit. Its deposit products include checking, savings, money market and time deposit accounts, along with treasury management, online banking and other cash-management services for business customers.

Preferred Bank serves customers through a network of branches and offices in California and the New York metropolitan area, including markets in Southern California, Northern California and communities in the New York region.