10,023 Shares in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) Purchased by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 10,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Premier Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,254,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,342,000 after acquiring an additional 17,231 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $40,269,000 after purchasing an additional 10,557 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,065,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,669,000 after acquiring an additional 48,257 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 390,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,937,000 after acquiring an additional 27,201 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in Premier Financial by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 274,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,566,000 after acquiring an additional 16,403 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of PFC stock opened at $24.25 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.25 and a 200-day moving average of $21.40. 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 Corp. has a 12-month low of $15.79 and a 12-month high of $26.40. The company has a market capitalization of $868.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 1.26.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.06). Premier Financial had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 18.07%. The company had revenue of $110.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Premier Financial Corp. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Premier Financial

In other Premier Financial news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at $953,231.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 transaction of $50,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $35,460.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,311 shares in the company, valued at $669,272.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.