Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. (NASDAQ:PGC)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $34.86, but opened at $33.31. Peapack-Gladstone Financial shares last traded at $34.04, with a volume of 10,987 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.79 and a 200 day moving average of $31.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $591.48 million, a P/E ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.99.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial (NASDAQ:PGC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. Peapack-Gladstone Financial had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 5.57%. Equities analysts predict that Peapack-Gladstone Financial Co. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 6th. Peapack-Gladstone Financial’s payout ratio is currently 10.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gregory Martin Smith sold 17,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $563,374.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 297 shares in the company, valued at $9,489.15. The trade was a 98.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 7.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Peapack-Gladstone Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGC. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 349,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,199,000 after purchasing an additional 25,687 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 6.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,043,000 after buying an additional 8,393 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 165.8% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 24,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 15,320 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Peapack-Gladstone Financial by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 524,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,369,000 after acquiring an additional 12,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Peapack-Gladstone Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,590,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.75% of the company’s stock.

About Peapack-Gladstone Financial

Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Peapack-Gladstone Bank that provides private banking and wealth management services in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Banking and Peapack Private. It offers checking and savings accounts, money market and interest-bearing checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.