Short Interest in Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) Decreases By 21.6%

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a drop of 21.6% from the October 15th total of 2,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 544,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Stock Performance

Pacific Premier Bancorp stock traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.75. 599,621 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 548,413. Pacific Premier Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $20.52 and a fifty-two week high of $30.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -184.99 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.35.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $224.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pacific Premier Bancorp will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 12th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Pacific Premier Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently -879.94%.

Insider Activity

In other Pacific Premier Bancorp news, COO Edward Earl Wilcox sold 30,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.63, for a total value of $720,691.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 230,592 shares in the company, valued at $5,448,888.96. This represents a 11.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margaret S. Ohlhaver sold 9,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.96, for a total transaction of $259,273.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $712,281. The trade was a 26.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,023 shares of company stock worth $1,245,713 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pacific Premier Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PPBI. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in Pacific Premier Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $12,187,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $7,812,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 13.1% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,768,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $69,651,000 after buying an additional 321,716 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 61.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 644,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,214,000 after acquiring an additional 245,771 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 6.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,253,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $97,695,000 after purchasing an additional 242,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PPBI shares. Raymond James upped their price target on Pacific Premier Bancorp from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stephens raised their price target on Pacific Premier Bancorp from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.50.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Company Profile

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Premier Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts deposit products, which includes checking, money market, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. Its loan portfolio includes commercial real estate owner and non-owner-occupied, multifamily, construction and land, franchise real estate secured, and small business administration (SBA); revolving lines of credit, term loans, seasonal loans, and loans secured by liquid collateral; one-to-four family and home equity lines of credit loans; and small balance personal unsecured loans and savings account secured loans.