Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $105.99 and last traded at $105.12, with a volume of 269325 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $104.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFBC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Preferred Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Preferred Bank has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.00.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.93. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 0.56.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $2.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $69.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.76 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 17.52%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 10.67 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 29.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,992.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 523 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Preferred Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 192.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Company Profile

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.