Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $83.85 and traded as high as $85.73. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $85.33, with a volume of 82,987 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens downgraded shares of Preferred Bank from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 4.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.90.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.07. Preferred Bank had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 26.20%. The business had revenue of $132.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.71 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Preferred Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is presently 30.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFBC. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Preferred Bank in the third quarter worth about $54,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its holdings in Preferred Bank by 69.9% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank in the third quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 35.1% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 194.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Company 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.