Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 115,683 Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

Phocas Financial Corp. decreased its holdings in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 85.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,313 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 115,683 shares during the quarter. Preferred Bank makes up 1.3% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PFBC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Preferred Bank by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,935,000 after purchasing an additional 35,979 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Preferred Bank by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 19,879 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 6,056 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 352,597 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,300,000 after buying an additional 12,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Preferred Bank by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 415,722 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,362,000 after acquiring an additional 7,086 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFBC opened at $87.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Preferred Bank has a twelve month low of $69.69 and a twelve month high of $99.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.83 and a 200 day moving average of $86.02.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. As a group, research analysts expect that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. This is a boost from Preferred Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Preferred Bank’s payout ratio is presently 31.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFBC. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

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.