Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) Short Interest Update

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a drop of 29.5% from the January 15th total of 1,900,000 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 538,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Price Performance

PPBI stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $25.16. 401,921 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 561,813. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 1.26. Pacific Premier Bancorp has a 52 week low of $20.52 and a 52 week high of $30.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.03. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 17.54%. As a group, analysts expect that Pacific Premier Bancorp will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Pacific Premier Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacific Premier Bancorp news, EVP Michael S. Karr sold 10,290 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.87, for a total transaction of $276,492.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,474 shares in the company, valued at $2,135,466.38. This trade represents a 11.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pacific Premier Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 22.0% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 234,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,903,000 after buying an additional 42,357 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 5.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 150,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,787,000 after buying an additional 8,145 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $784,000. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $12,187,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 71.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 203,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 84,859 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on PPBI shares. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Pacific Premier Bancorp from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Pacific Premier Bancorp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

About Pacific Premier Bancorp

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Premier Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, which includes checking, money market, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial real estate owner and non-owner-occupied, multifamily, construction and land, franchise real estate secured, and small business administration (SBA); revolving lines of credit, term loans, seasonal loans, and loans secured by liquid collateral; one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit loans; and small balance personal unsecured loans and savings account secured loans.