Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,089 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,807 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.25% of Preferred Bank worth $3,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFBC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,107 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,935,000 after purchasing an additional 35,979 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,879 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 6,056 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 352,597 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,300,000 after buying an additional 12,283 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Preferred Bank by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 26,222 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 3,516 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PFBC shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Preferred Bank Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $84.15 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 0.71. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $70.99 and a twelve month high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. On average, equities analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.15%.

About Preferred Bank

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.