Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Shares Bought by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 58,144 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Premier Financial were worth $1,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Premier Financial by 252.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 53,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 38,486 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 10,557 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,547 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 61.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 80,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reissued 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Premier Financial Price Performance

PFC stock opened at $24.09 on Friday. Premier Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $15.79 and a 1 year high of $26.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $24.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.46. The firm has a market cap of $862.74 million, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.26.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.06). Premier Financial had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $110.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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