Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on PB. Bank of America upgraded shares of Prosperity Bancshares from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Prosperity Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Performance

Prosperity Bancshares stock opened at $70.51 on Wednesday. Prosperity Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $57.16 and a fifty-two week high of $86.76. The company has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.17.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 6.64%. As a group, analysts predict that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Prosperity Bancshares

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total transaction of $37,625.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 109,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,263,578.75. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $418,095. Corporate insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Prosperity Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 487.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 368.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 190.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.