Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) Short Interest Update

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,530,000 shares, a growth of 16.8% from the February 13th total of 1,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 546,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pacific Premier Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Premier Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Pacific Premier Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $60,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 158.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 729.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,655 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 30.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Premier Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $158,000. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ PPBI traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 135,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 504,063. Pacific Premier Bancorp has a 12 month low of $20.52 and a 12 month high of $30.28. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 1.25.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.03. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 5.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pacific Premier Bancorp will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.00%. Pacific Premier Bancorp’s payout ratio is 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.