Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PGC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Peapack-Gladstone Financial in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “strong-buy” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Trading Up 2.1%

PGC stock opened at $27.87 on Friday. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a 1-year low of $20.55 and a 1-year high of $37.88. The firm has a market cap of $494.30 million, a P/E ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.30 and its 200-day moving average is $30.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $64.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.07 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Peapack-Gladstone Financial will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 8th were issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 8th. Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s payout ratio is currently 11.11%.

Insider Transactions at Peapack-Gladstone Financial

In other news, Director F Duffield Meyercord acquired 6,316 shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $28.44 per share, with a total value of $179,627.04. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 140,372 shares in the company, valued at $3,992,179.68. This represents a 4.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.91, for a total value of $578,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,453.73. This represents a 31.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,152,650 in the last three months. 7.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGC. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $112,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 507.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 4,930 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.75% of the company’s stock.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.