Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s (PGC) “Moderate Buy” Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their moderate buy rating on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $56.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $55.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $54.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research lowered Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.33.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Price Performance

Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock opened at $46.40 on Monday. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a 1-year low of $24.66 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.21 million, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $45.81 and its 200 day moving average is $39.67.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Sunday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.03). Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 11.09%.The firm had revenue of $86.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.17 million. Research analysts anticipate that Peapack-Gladstone Financial will post 3.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 13th will be issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 13th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s payout ratio is presently 6.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John P. Babcock sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $235,550.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,147,368.02. This represents a 9.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lisa Chalkan sold 1,100 shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,241,170. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,100 shares of company stock valued at $377,170 over the last quarter. 5.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Peapack-Gladstone Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 3,070 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 4.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,939 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 8.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 4,329 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 119.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after buying an additional 28,428 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 13.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 15,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 1,945 shares during the period. 72.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation is the parent company of Peapack-Gladstone Bank, a New Jersey-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey, that trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol PGC. Through Peapack-Gladstone Bank, the company offers a broad range of deposit and lending solutions, including checking and savings accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, lines of credit and treasury management services. Clients benefit from both in-branch relationship banking and an expanding suite of digital banking tools designed to support personal and business financial needs.

Complementing its core banking operations, Peapack-Gladstone Financial provides wealth management, trust and financial planning services through its subsidiary, Peapack-Gladstone Wealth Management.