KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $916,000 Investment in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 10,600 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 4.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,674 shares of the bank’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management grew its stake in Preferred Bank by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 550 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Preferred Bank by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 16,272 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Preferred Bank by 217.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 562 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the period. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

PFBC opened at $83.66 on Tuesday. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $70.99 and a twelve month high of $99.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.94.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 25.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PFBC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

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.