Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Strong Earnings

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $75.00 and last traded at $71.34, with a volume of 60936 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $72.58.

The bank reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.03. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 25.10% and a return on equity of 6.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS.

Prosperity Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This is a boost from Prosperity Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. Prosperity Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 49.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Prosperity Bancshares from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $80.50 to $82.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut shares of Prosperity Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.58.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,287,615 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $262,141,000 after purchasing an additional 532,241 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 3.0% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,359,165 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $388,799,000 after buying an additional 184,453 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 666,140.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 146,573 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,642,000 after acquiring an additional 146,551 shares in the last quarter. Amarillo National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,520,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 811,772 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,632,000 after acquiring an additional 112,101 shares in the last quarter. 80.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Prosperity Bancshares Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.58. The firm has a market cap of $7.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.89.

About Prosperity Bancshares

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.