Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Holdings Increased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,498 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PFBC. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Preferred Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 69.9% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 848 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Preferred Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Preferred Bank by 35.1% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,486 shares of the bank’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 194.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $90.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.23 and a 200-day moving average of $85.06. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $99.78.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.20% and a return on equity of 19.01%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Preferred Bank will post 9.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from Preferred Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is currently 30.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFBC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Thursday. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday.

Preferred Bank Profile

Preferred Bank provides various commercial banking products and services to small and mid-sized businesses and their owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and investors, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts; fixed-rate and fixed maturity retail, and non-retail certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts.