Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their market perform rating on shares of Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $23.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $25.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of Premier Financial from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $22.50 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Premier Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday.

Premier Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PFC traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $19.91. 31,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 136,379. The stock has a market cap of $712.78 million, a P/E ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.40. Premier Financial has a 12-month low of $13.60 and a 12-month high of $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Premier Financial had a net margin of 23.67% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $108.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.93 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Premier Financial will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier Financial news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $30,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,411.77. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 766.2% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Premier Financial in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Premier Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its position in Premier Financial by 480.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 4,358 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Company Profile

Premier Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking services. It offers demand, checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposits and certificates of deposit account registry service; and investment products. The company also provides residential and commercial real estate, commercial, construction, home improvement and home equity, installment, and consumer loans.