Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) Short Interest Up 16.8% in February

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:PPBI) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,530,000 shares, a growth of 16.8% from the February 13th total of 1,310,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 546,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:PPBI traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $21.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 612,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 505,309. Pacific Premier Bancorp has a 52-week low of $20.52 and a 52-week high of $30.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.19 and a 200-day moving average of $25.36.

Pacific Premier Bancorp (NASDAQ:PPBI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.03. Pacific Premier Bancorp had a return on equity of 5.43% and a net margin of 17.54%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pacific Premier Bancorp will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Premier Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Pacific Premier Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Pacific Premier Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $964,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 298,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,441,000 after buying an additional 24,535 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 190,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,744,000 after buying an additional 8,301 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Pacific Premier Bancorp by 252.2% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 31,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 22,509 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Pacific Premier Bancorp from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.00.

About Pacific Premier Bancorp

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.