Empowered Funds LLC Has $2.07 Million Stake in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 5.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,183 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,422 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.25% of Premier Financial worth $2,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Premier Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Premier Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Premier Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $84,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Premier Financial by 296.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Premier Financial by 56.9% in the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dennis E. Rose, Jr. sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $953,231.14. This represents a 4.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.22% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ PFC opened at $27.50 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $985.63 million, a PE ratio of 13.96 and a beta of 1.25. Premier Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $18.63 and a 52 week high of $29.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.50 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $112.74 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Premier Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.51%. Premier Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.94%.

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.