32,882 Shares in Preferred Bank $PFBC Bought by Azora Capital LP

Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 32,882 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $3,105,000. Azora Capital LP owned 0.23% of Preferred Bank at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 14,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 25,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 2.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,266 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in Preferred Bank by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 6.4% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 3,954 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.77% of the company’s stock.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ PFBC opened at $98.39 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $95.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.51. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $79.65 and a twelve month high of $103.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

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

Preferred Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 7th will be paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 7th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on PFBC shares. Brean Capital lowered Preferred Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Janney Montgomery Scott started coverage on Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $100.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Preferred Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Preferred Bank from $105.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.00.

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.