Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 11,965 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 52.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,965 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Premier Financial by 538.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 68,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 57,707 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Premier Financial by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,983,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,269,000 after purchasing an additional 10,557 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Premier Financial by 12.6% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 22,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Premier Financial by 66.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,684,000 after purchasing an additional 129,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 61.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after buying an additional 80,217 shares in the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Premier Financial

In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $50,020.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,231.14. This trade represents a 4.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Price Performance

Premier Financial stock opened at $27.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $997.07 million, a PE ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.25. Premier Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $18.63 and a 12-month high of $29.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 16.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is 62.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Premier Financial Company Profile

Premier Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking services. It offers demand, checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposits and certificates of deposit account registry service; and investment products. The company also provides residential and commercial real estate, commercial, construction, home improvement and home equity, installment, and consumer loans.