Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Bank of America raised Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens raised their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Prosperity Bancshares has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $82.88.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PB traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $76.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 626,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 508,201. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.26. The stock has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. Prosperity Bancshares has a 52 week low of $57.16 and a 52 week high of $86.75.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. Research analysts anticipate that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total value of $41,085.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 111,315 shares in the company, valued at $9,146,753.55. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Harrison Stafford II sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.07, for a total transaction of $320,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 107,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,578,459.59. This represents a 3.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,500 shares of company stock worth $752,665 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 487.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 368.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 102.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 592 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 190.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 815 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.