Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $83.44 and last traded at $83.40, with a volume of 387130 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.23.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PB. Raymond James downgraded Prosperity Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Hovde Group upped their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $80.50 to $82.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Prosperity Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Prosperity Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.96.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.84.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.03. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 25.39% and a return on equity of 6.46%. The company had revenue of $459.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.56%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PB. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 59.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 474 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 533.3% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 3,147.1% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the second quarter worth $46,000. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.