Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $29.15 and last traded at $29.03, with a volume of 16330 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Premier Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.50.

Premier Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.71. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.25.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.04). Premier Financial had a net margin of 16.06% and a return on equity of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is presently 62.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier Financial news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total transaction of $35,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,272.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total transaction of $35,460.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,272.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $50,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 38,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $953,231.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Premier Financial by 252.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 53,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after buying an additional 38,486 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Premier Financial by 538.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 68,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 57,707 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Premier Financial by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,983,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,269,000 after purchasing an additional 10,557 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Premier Financial by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 22,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Premier Financial by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,684,000 after purchasing an additional 129,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

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.