Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Shares Bought by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 2.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,300 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PFC. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Premier Financial by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,065,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,669,000 after purchasing an additional 48,257 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Premier Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,254,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,342,000 after buying an additional 17,231 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 2,084 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Premier Financial by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 191,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,616,000 after buying an additional 18,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. raised its stake in Premier Financial by 153.4% during the fourth quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 198,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,789,000 after acquiring an additional 120,299 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Premier Financial

In other Premier Financial news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 28,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $669,272.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total value of $35,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,311 shares in the company, valued at $669,272.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $50,020.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at $953,231.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Premier Financial Stock Performance

PFC stock opened at $24.09 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $862.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.97. Premier Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $15.79 and a 1 year high of $26.40.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.06). Premier Financial had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $110.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Premier Financial Corp. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Premier Financial Company Profile

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.