AlphaQuest LLC Has $2.06 Million Stake in Preferred Bank $PFBC

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 63.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,767 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 8,477 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 3,452 shares of the bank’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 25,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,266 shares of the bank’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,954 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered Preferred Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Brean Capital lowered shares of Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Trading Up 0.1%

PFBC opened at $94.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.63 and its 200 day moving average is $92.88. Preferred Bank has a fifty-two week low of $79.60 and a fifty-two week high of $103.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.05. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 17.52%. The company had revenue of $69.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.76 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 7th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is presently 29.96%.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. The institution offers a full range of banking products and services to businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate lending, business banking, treasury management and deposit accounts. Preferred Bank operates through branch offices across Southern California and national loan production offices in major U.S. markets.

The bank’s core lending portfolio focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, development and investment properties.