AlphaQuest LLC Sells 5,475 Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 67.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,662 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,475 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Preferred Bank were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 217.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 562 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Preferred Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Preferred Bank in the third quarter worth $76,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 914 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 194.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,906 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Preferred Bank in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Preferred Bank from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Preferred Bank from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Preferred Bank Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PFBC opened at $83.16 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 0.93. Preferred Bank has a 52-week low of $70.22 and a 52-week high of $99.78. 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 (NASDAQ:PFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The bank reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.17). Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Equities analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Preferred Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.15%.

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.