Creative Planning Purchases 3,345 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Creative Planning raised its position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 43,921 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PFC. EJF Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 490.8% during the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 158,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,220,000 after purchasing an additional 131,783 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,684,000 after purchasing an additional 129,913 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 656,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,425,000 after purchasing an additional 100,198 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 valued at $4,326,000 after purchasing an additional 80,217 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 252.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 53,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 38,486 shares during the period. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Premier Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.50.

Insider Transactions at Premier Financial

In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 28,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,272.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Price Performance

Premier Financial stock opened at $23.75 on Friday. Premier Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $15.79 and a 52 week high of $26.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $851.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 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 business had revenue of $110.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Premier Financial Corp. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is currently 56.36%.

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.