Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Premier Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:PFC) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,646 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,946 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Premier Financial worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Premier Financial by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,148,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,456,000 after purchasing an additional 244,224 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Premier Financial by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,319,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,341,000 after acquiring an additional 24,792 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Premier Financial by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,930,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,942,000 after acquiring an additional 14,655 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Premier Financial by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,425,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,455,000 after acquiring an additional 234,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Premier Financial by 0.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,380,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,876,000 after acquiring an additional 4,233 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.14% of the company’s stock.

Premier Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PFC opened at $19.52 on Friday. Premier Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $24.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $19.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $698.82 million, a PE ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 1.27.

Premier Financial (NASDAQ:PFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $64.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.15 million. Premier Financial had a net margin of 24.39% and a return on equity of 9.76%. On average, research analysts expect that Premier Financial Corp. will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

Premier Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Premier Financial’s payout ratio is currently 39.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Donald P. Hileman sold 1,500 shares of Premier Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.07, for a total transaction of $30,105.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $628,411.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Premier Financial in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $21.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Premier Financial from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded Premier Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.50 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st.

Premier Financial Company Profile

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.