Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) gapped up prior to trading on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $83.33, but opened at $85.94. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $84.00, with a volume of 4,275 shares changing hands.

The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.07. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 27.35% and a return on equity of 20.24%. The company had revenue of $132.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.71 EPS.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is presently 27.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Preferred Bank from $88.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 868,073 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,642,000 after acquiring an additional 10,931 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 680,337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,357,000 after buying an additional 4,539 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 121.0% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 171,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,934,000 after acquiring an additional 93,815 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 7.4% during the second quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 98,591 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,443,000 after acquiring an additional 6,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 24.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 77,745 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,869,000 after purchasing an additional 15,391 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $80.38 and a 200-day moving average of $78.24. The company has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

Preferred Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to small and mid-sized businesses and their owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and investors, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; fixed-rate and fixed maturity retail, and non-retail certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.