Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America raised shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.50.

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PB traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 866,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,675. Prosperity Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $57.16 and a fifty-two week high of $86.76. The company has a market capitalization of $6.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $76.58 and a 200-day moving average of $76.21.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 6.64%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Prosperity Bancshares

In other news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total transaction of $37,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 109,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,263,578.75. This trade represents a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $418,095. 4.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 487.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 368.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 592 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 190.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.