LSV Asset Management Sells 14,300 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

LSV Asset Management cut its position in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,300 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Premier Financial were worth $6,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Premier Financial by 766.2% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Premier Financial during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Premier Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 480.0% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Premier Financial during the third quarter valued at $171,000. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $30,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $628,411.77. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Stock Performance

Shares of PFC stock opened at $20.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $749.15 million, a PE ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 1.27. Premier Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $24.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Premier Financial had a net margin of 23.67% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The business had revenue of $108.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 2nd. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PFC. Hovde Group raised Premier Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.50 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Premier Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $25.00) on shares of Premier Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 25th.

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.