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

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.98, for a total transaction of $55,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,011,309.12. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Premier Financial Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ PFC opened at $28.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.93 and a 200-day moving average of $23.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.25. Premier Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $18.63 and a 12 month high of $29.15.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $112.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 earned $0.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Premier Financial

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,983,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,269,000 after acquiring an additional 10,557 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Premier Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,055,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,780,000 after purchasing an additional 35,682 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Premier Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,300,000 after buying an additional 8,542 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Premier Financial by 2,017.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 751,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,655,000 after buying an additional 716,406 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Premier Financial by 18.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 656,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,425,000 after buying an additional 100,198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.14% 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.