Bank of America Upgrades Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) to Neutral

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $80.00 target price on the bank’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.05% from the stock’s previous close.

PB has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wolfe Research restated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Prosperity Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.38.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PB opened at $74.73 on Tuesday. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $57.16 and a 1 year high of $86.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.20 and a 200 day moving average of $73.10. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.93.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.03. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.46% and a net margin of 25.39%. The firm had revenue of $459.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $299.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Research analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Chairman H E. Timanus, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.50, for a total value of $346,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 229,953 shares in the company, valued at $19,890,934.50. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total transaction of $40,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 113,815 shares in the company, valued at $9,269,093.60. The trade was a 0.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,100 shares of company stock worth $1,080,364. Corporate insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Prosperity Bancshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,804,000. Prospector Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 24.6% in the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 228,992 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,503,000 after buying an additional 45,177 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 16.0% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 811,772 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,632,000 after buying an additional 112,101 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the third quarter worth $372,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 3.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Prosperity Bancshares

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.