Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Short Interest Update

Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) was the target of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 666,400 shares, a growth of 42.0% from the August 15th total of 469,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 194,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Premier Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFC traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $24.49. 166,937 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 156,472. The company has a market capitalization of $877.06 million, a P/E ratio of 7.90 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. Premier Financial has a 52-week low of $15.79 and a 52-week high of $26.40. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.35.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $110.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.20 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 8.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Premier Financial will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.06%. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Premier Financial news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total value of $35,460.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,272.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Premier Financial news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total value of $35,460.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,272.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Premier Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Premier Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $315,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Premier Financial by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 43,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 3,345 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Premier Financial during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Premier Financial by 66.0% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Premier Financial by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 17,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.