Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Stock Breaks Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.72 and traded as high as $70.68. Prosperity Bancshares shares last traded at $69.7820, with a volume of 1,041,340 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PB shares. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $85.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $79.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial raised Prosperity Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.55.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.36.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The bank reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $391.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $380.73 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 29.95% and a return on equity of 7.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is 41.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ned Holmes sold 600 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $44,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 39,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,933,270. The trade was a 1.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 13,800 shares of company stock worth $977,902 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PB. Segment Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,014,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 40.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,476 shares of the bank’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 41.1% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 12,060 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 3,512 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 15.8% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 11,953 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 1,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 17.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through its principal subsidiary, Prosperity Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and public entities.

Prosperity Bank offers deposit products, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage and real estate lending, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other traditional banking services. Its lending activities include financing for commercial businesses, agriculture, residential and commercial real estate, and personal needs.

Founded in 1983, Prosperity Bancshares has expanded primarily through organic growth and the acquisition of community banks.