Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Stake in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,242,511 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,192 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of Premier Financial worth $45,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Premier Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,983,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,269,000 after buying an additional 10,557 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Premier Financial by 18.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 656,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,425,000 after buying an additional 100,198 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Premier Financial by 7.5% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 390,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,937,000 after buying an additional 27,201 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Premier Financial by 6.4% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 274,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,566,000 after buying an additional 16,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Premier Financial by 61.1% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 211,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,326,000 after buying an additional 80,217 shares in the last quarter. 66.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Premier Financial in a research note 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Premier Financial Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PFC stock opened at $23.13 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.59. Premier Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $15.79 and a 12-month high of $26.40. The firm has a market cap of $828.35 million, a P/E ratio of 7.46 and a beta of 1.26.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last released its earnings results 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). Premier Financial had a net margin of 18.07% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $110.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.20 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Premier Financial Corp. will post 1.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Premier Financial news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.64, for a total transaction of $35,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,272.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $953,231.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.