Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.50.

PB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James increased their price target on Prosperity Bancshares from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Prosperity Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $102.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $77.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of PB opened at $70.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $57.16 and a 1 year high of $86.76. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.17.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.04. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 6.64%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Prosperity Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.85%.

Insider Transactions at Prosperity Bancshares

In related news, Director Ned S. Holmes sold 500 shares of Prosperity Bancshares stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.25, for a total value of $37,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 109,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,263,578.75. The trade was a 0.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $418,095 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 487.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 376 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 368.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 520 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Prosperity Bancshares by 102.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 592 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 190.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 815 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 844 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.