Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. Sells 2,000 Shares

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total value of $55,960.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,011,309.12. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Premier Financial Stock Performance

Premier Financial stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.48. 46,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 153,962. Premier Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $18.63 and a twelve month high of $29.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $984.91 million, a PE ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 1.25.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $112.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.55 million. Premier Financial had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 16.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 2,017.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 751,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,655,000 after purchasing an additional 716,406 shares in the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 490.8% during the first quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 158,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,220,000 after purchasing an additional 131,783 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 66.0% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,684,000 after acquiring an additional 129,913 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 18.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 656,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,425,000 after acquiring an additional 100,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 61.1% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after acquiring an additional 80,217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Company 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.