Intech Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Preferred Bank $PFBC

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,590 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,947 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Preferred Bank by 16.2% in the second quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the second quarter worth about $225,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 2,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 27.7% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 22.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,149 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of PFBC stock opened at $94.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. Preferred Bank has a fifty-two week low of $71.90 and a fifty-two week high of $99.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $90.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.02.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The bank reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by $0.27. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 16.91% and a net margin of 25.67%.The company had revenue of $74.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PFBC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $112.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Preferred Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Preferred Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.67.

Preferred Bank Profile

Preferred Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to small and mid-sized businesses and their owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and investors, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; fixed-rate and fixed maturity retail, and non-retail certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.