Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

PB has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America raised Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stephens increased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.35.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 0.8 %

PB opened at $64.72 on Thursday. Prosperity Bancshares has a twelve month low of $57.16 and a twelve month high of $86.76. The firm has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.79, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.63.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.64% and a net margin of 26.79%. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prosperity Bancshares

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total value of $39,505.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 108,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,557,968.15. This represents a 0.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $408,695. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,780,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $736,923,000 after purchasing an additional 44,567 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,586,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $345,575,000 after acquiring an additional 48,304 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,342,047 shares of the bank’s stock worth $176,473,000 after acquiring an additional 32,917 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,708,509 shares of the bank’s stock worth $123,162,000 after acquiring an additional 15,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snyder Capital Management L P lifted its holdings in Prosperity Bancshares by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 1,220,977 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,001,000 after acquiring an additional 83,488 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

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.