Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PB. Raymond James increased their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens upped their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Bank of America raised shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.88.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PB opened at $73.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $77.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.32. Prosperity Bancshares has a twelve month low of $57.16 and a twelve month high of $86.76.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. As a group, research analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 45.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prosperity Bancshares

In other news, Director Harrison Stafford II sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total value of $320,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 107,137 shares in the company, valued at $8,578,459.59. This trade represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.30, for a total value of $39,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 106,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,363,614.50. This represents a 0.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $711,145 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PB. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth $242,000. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth about $303,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd boosted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd now owns 13,540 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,473,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $464,000. 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.