LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Preferred Bank (PFBC) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $19.6 million.

The Los Angeles-based bank said it had earnings of $1.31 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.26 per share.

The independent commercial bank posted revenue of $57.4 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $42.3 million, falling short of Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $42.6 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $78.4 million, or $5.16 per share. Revenue was reported as $172.1 million.

Preferred Bank shares have remained stable since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $60.09, a rise of 25% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on PFBC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PFBC

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News