Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 655,800 shares, a growth of 39.2% from the March 15th total of 471,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 183,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.
Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Premier Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 26th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Premier Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Premier Financial from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 12th. They noted that the move was a valuation call.
PFC traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.66. 84,571 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,648. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 1.32. Premier Financial has a 12-month low of $25.80 and a 12-month high of $34.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.94.
Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 24th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.08). Premier Financial had a return on equity of 12.35% and a net margin of 38.96%. The firm had revenue of $75.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Premier Financial will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 10th. This is a boost from Premier Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.40%.
In related news, Director Richard J. Schiraldi sold 26,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.80, for a total value of $822,360.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.56, for a total value of $30,560.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PFC. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,903,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,658,000 after acquiring an additional 459,554 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,199,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,078,000 after acquiring an additional 341,290 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 264.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 257,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,201,000 after purchasing an additional 186,930 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 941,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,116,000 after purchasing an additional 78,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 48.3% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 234,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,457,000 after purchasing an additional 76,280 shares during the last quarter. 68.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
About Premier Financial (Get Rating)
Premier Financial Corp., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking services. It offers various 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, and consumer loans.
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Read More: Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Short Interest Update