Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Stock Position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 4.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 385,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $7,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PFC. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its position in Premier Financial by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 13,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 1.9% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 58,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 2.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Premier Financial Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of PFC opened at $23.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $839.46 million, a P/E ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 1.26. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.50. Premier Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $15.79 and a twelve month high of $26.40.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.06). Premier Financial had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $110.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.29%. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at Premier Financial

In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total value of $50,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The transaction 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 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 in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research report 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.50.

Premier Financial Profile

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.