Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $92.47 and traded as high as $95.42. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $94.73, with a volume of 135,254 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PFBC. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on Preferred Bank in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Brean Capital lowered Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.47.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $2.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $69.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.76 million. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.52% and a net margin of 26.49%. As a group, research analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were given a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 29.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Preferred Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFBC. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,091,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 27,921 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,524,000 after acquiring an additional 10,998 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 337,804 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,534,000 after acquiring an additional 45,946 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 31,322 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 316.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 10,212 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 7,762 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. The institution offers a full range of banking products and services to businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate lending, business banking, treasury management and deposit accounts. Preferred Bank operates through branch offices across Southern California and national loan production offices in major U.S. markets.

The bank’s core lending portfolio focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, development and investment properties.