Benchmark Upgrades Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) to Strong-Buy

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) was upgraded by analysts at Benchmark to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

PFBC has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Stephens raised their target price on Preferred Bank from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.25.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFBC opened at $108.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $104.94 and a 200-day moving average of $99.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Preferred Bank has a 1-year low of $81.50 and a 1-year high of $112.26.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $73.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.60 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.27% and a net margin of 26.54%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Preferred Bank will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Preferred Bank

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Preferred Bank by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 14,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 4.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 25,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,380,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 9,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

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.