Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Coverage Initiated at Raymond James

Equities researchers at Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “strong-buy” rating and a $39.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Raymond James’ price target suggests a potential upside of 58.28% from the company’s previous close.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Price Performance

Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock opened at $24.64 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $433.57 million, a PE ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.77. Peapack-Gladstone Financial has a one year low of $20.30 and a one year high of $37.88.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 8.11%. As a group, research analysts expect that Peapack-Gladstone Financial will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Peapack-Gladstone Financial news, EVP John P. Babcock sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $287,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,126,097.80. This represents a 20.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas L. Kennedy sold 20,000 shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.91, for a total value of $578,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,453.73. The trade was a 31.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,633 shares of company stock worth $1,716,024. Corporate insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGC. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,928,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial during the fourth quarter worth $3,590,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 937,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,037,000 after buying an additional 62,803 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 202,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,502,000 after buying an additional 55,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 339,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,870,000 after acquiring an additional 35,159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.75% of the company’s stock.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.