Dennis E. Rose, Jr. Sells 2,000 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Stock

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,144 shares in the company, valued at $1,011,309.12. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Premier Financial Trading Up 2.8 %

PFC opened at $28.26 on Friday. Premier Financial Corp. has a one year low of $18.63 and a one year high of $29.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.25.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $112.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 62.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Institutional Trading of Premier Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Premier Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,542 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Premier Financial by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,900,000 after purchasing an additional 30,334 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 17.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 51,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after buying an additional 7,461 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,055,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,780,000 after buying an additional 35,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 23.3% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 12,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Premier Financial

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.