Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) Stock Price Crosses Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $97.98 and traded as high as $102.56. Preferred Bank shares last traded at $101.91, with a volume of 101,562 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PFBC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Preferred Bank in a report on Friday, September 4th. Stephens upped their target price on Preferred Bank from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Preferred Bank Stock Down 0.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.13. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 26.54% and a return on equity of 17.27%. The firm had revenue of $73.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.60 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 10.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 7th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.25%.

Institutional Trading of Preferred Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Preferred Bank by 2.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,266 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Preferred Bank by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 25,931 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 4,158 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 81.0% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 66,428 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after acquiring an additional 29,729 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 1,224.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 331 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 148.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 14,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 8,505 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Preferred Bank

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ: PFBC) is a California-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Los Angeles. The institution offers a full range of banking products and services to businesses and individuals, with a particular emphasis on commercial real estate lending, business banking, treasury management and deposit accounts. Preferred Bank operates through branch offices across Southern California and national loan production offices in major U.S. markets.

The bank’s core lending portfolio focuses on commercial real estate acquisition, development and investment properties.