AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 9,087 Shares of Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,775 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,087 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.62% of Preferred Bank worth $7,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PFBC. Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 3,495 shares of the bank’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Preferred Bank by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,129,287 shares of the bank’s stock worth $97,548,000 after acquiring an additional 5,114 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,257 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Preferred Bank by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 3,384 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Preferred Bank by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 261,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $22,815,000 after purchasing an additional 27,760 shares in the last quarter. 72.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Preferred Bank Stock Performance

Shares of PFBC stock opened at $81.33 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $81.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.70. Preferred Bank has a one year low of $71.43 and a one year high of $99.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Preferred Bank (NASDAQ:PFBC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The bank reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.33 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $65.96 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.78 million. Preferred Bank had a net margin of 25.00% and a return on equity of 17.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Preferred Bank will post 9.81 EPS for the current year.

Preferred Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Preferred Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PFBC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Preferred Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Preferred Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Preferred Bank from $108.00 to $96.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

About Preferred Bank

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.