Royce & Associates LP Buys 23,589 Shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,965 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,589 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.50% of Premier Financial worth $4,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP increased its position in Premier Financial by 538.1% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 68,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 57,707 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Premier Financial by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $577,000 after buying an additional 4,542 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 21,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Premier Financial by 37.0% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 289,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,800,000 after acquiring an additional 78,160 shares in the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Premier Financial Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PFC opened at $27.82 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.94. The company has a market cap of $997.07 million, a P/E ratio of 14.12 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Premier Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $18.63 and a twelve month high of $29.15.

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

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is currently 62.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Insider Transactions at Premier Financial

In other Premier Financial news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at $953,231.14. This represents a 4.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

About Premier Financial

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.