Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.50.

Several brokerages have issued reports on PB. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PB opened at $70.97 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.79 and a 200 day moving average of $76.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. Prosperity Bancshares has a 12 month low of $57.16 and a 12 month high of $86.76.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 6.64%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prosperity Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.85%.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total transaction of $38,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 110,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,388,352.60. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $421,905 in the last three months. 4.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospector Partners LLC increased its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 228,992 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $16,503,000 after purchasing an additional 45,177 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 818,744 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,007,000 after buying an additional 6,972 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $372,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 418.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 111,548 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,039,000 after buying an additional 90,015 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 835,565 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,219,000 after buying an additional 36,480 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.