Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 186,564 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,169 shares during the quarter. Premier Financial accounts for approximately 3.3% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned 0.52% of Premier Financial worth $3,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Premier Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Premier Financial by 296.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its position in Premier Financial by 56.9% in the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares in the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Premier Financial Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ PFC opened at $23.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $825.75 million, a P/E ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.53. 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 52-week low of $15.79 and a 52-week high of $26.40.

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

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 5.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at $953,231.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,311 shares in the company, valued at $669,272.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reiterated 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

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.