Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Announces $0.31 Quarterly Dividend

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 23rd, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.31 per share on Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.18%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd.

Premier Financial has increased its dividend by an average of 12.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 3 years. Premier Financial has a payout ratio of 52.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Premier Financial to earn $2.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.7%.

Premier Financial Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Premier Financial stock traded down $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $20.07. The company had a trading volume of 14,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 135,052. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.75 and a 200-day moving average of $20.40. Premier Financial has a twelve month low of $13.60 and a twelve month high of $24.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $718.51 million, a P/E ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.27.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $108.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.93 million. Premier Financial had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 23.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that Premier Financial will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total value of $30,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,311 shares in the company, valued at $628,411.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group upgraded Premier Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.50 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Premier Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Premier Financial in a report on Thursday.

About Premier Financial

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.