Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,642 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Premier Financial by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,065,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,669,000 after buying an additional 48,257 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 41.1% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,874,000 after acquiring an additional 46,854 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Premier Financial by 27.4% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 64,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 13,810 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Premier Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $310,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Premier Financial by 333.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 268,188 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 206,258 shares during the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier Financial

In related news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $31,785.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 29,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,695.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PFC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Premier Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Premier Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Hovde Group raised Premier Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.50 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

Premier Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PFC stock opened at $20.56 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $736.25 million, a PE ratio of 6.63 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.65. Premier Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $15.70 and a 52 week high of $24.87.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Premier Financial had a return on equity of 9.12% and a net margin of 23.67%. The company had revenue of $108.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.93 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2.08 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

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.