Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.24 Per Share

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:PNFP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 21st,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.24 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Pinnacle Financial Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Pinnacle Financial Partners has increased its dividend by an average of 6.9% per year over the last three years. Pinnacle Financial Partners has a dividend payout ratio of 10.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Pinnacle Financial Partners to earn $9.09 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.6%.

Pinnacle Financial Partners Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PNFP opened at $123.72 on Wednesday. Pinnacle Financial Partners has a 52-week low of $73.62 and a 52-week high of $131.91. The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $119.22 and its 200 day moving average is $107.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ:PNFP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.10. Pinnacle Financial Partners had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 15.48%. The company had revenue of $475.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $470.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. Pinnacle Financial Partners’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Pinnacle Financial Partners will post 7.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Harold R. Carpenter sold 3,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.57, for a total value of $383,114.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,805 shares in the company, valued at $7,635,283.85. This trade represents a 4.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David B. Ingram sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.02, for a total value of $2,520,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 92,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,665,041.30. This trade represents a 17.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 86,970 shares of company stock worth $10,862,061. Insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PNFP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $140.00 to $138.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $123.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Pinnacle Financial Partners from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays upgraded Pinnacle Financial Partners from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Pinnacle Financial Partners in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $125.18.

About Pinnacle Financial Partners

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as the bank holding company for Pinnacle Bank that provides various banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and professional entities in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, including savings, noninterest-bearing and interest-bearing checking, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts; and provides treasury management services, which includes online wire origination, enhanced ACH origination services, positive pay, zero balance and sweep accounts, automated bill pay services, electronic receivables processing, lockbox processing, and merchant card acceptance services.