SG Americas Securities LLC Takes $200,000 Position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PFC. EJF Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 490.8% during the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 158,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,220,000 after buying an additional 131,783 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 66.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 326,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,684,000 after buying an additional 129,913 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 18.0% during the 2nd 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 61.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,326,000 after buying an additional 80,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Premier Financial by 252.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 53,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 38,486 shares during the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott restated 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.50.

Premier Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

PFC opened at $24.42 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.04. Premier Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $15.79 and a twelve month high of $26.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $874.55 million, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.26.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $110.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.20 million. Premier Financial had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 18.07%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Premier Financial Corp. will post 1.98 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Premier Financial news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total value of $35,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $669,272.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.01, for a total transaction of $50,020.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $669,272.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.