AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 36,170 Shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI)

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) by 78.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 82,034 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,170 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Pacific Premier Bancorp were worth $2,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 234,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,903,000 after purchasing an additional 42,357 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 150,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,145 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $784,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in Pacific Premier Bancorp in the third quarter worth $12,187,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 71.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 84,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael S. Karr sold 10,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $276,492.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,135,466.38. This trade represents a 11.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.21% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Stock Performance

Pacific Premier Bancorp stock opened at $22.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $24.61 and its 200 day moving average is $25.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 1.25. Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.52 and a twelve month high of $30.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.03. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 17.54%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.93%. Pacific Premier Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.49%.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Company Profile

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Premier Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, which includes checking, money market, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial real estate owner and non-owner-occupied, multifamily, construction and land, franchise real estate secured, and small business administration (SBA); revolving lines of credit, term loans, seasonal loans, and loans secured by liquid collateral; one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit loans; and small balance personal unsecured loans and savings account secured loans.