Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 513,200 shares, a decline of 32.7% from the February 13th total of 762,300 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 214,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Central Pacific Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Central Pacific Financial stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.14. 186,133 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 189,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Central Pacific Financial has a 1 year low of $18.35 and a 1 year high of $33.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $734.44 million, a P/E ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.94.

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.09. Central Pacific Financial had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 15.49%. As a group, analysts forecast that Central Pacific Financial will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Central Pacific Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Central Pacific Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Central Pacific Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Pacific Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,124,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $61,712,000 after purchasing an additional 20,196 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Central Pacific Financial by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 659,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,158,000 after acquiring an additional 77,032 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Central Pacific Financial by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 644,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,724,000 after acquiring an additional 4,021 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Central Pacific Financial by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 637,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,506,000 after acquiring an additional 66,053 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Central Pacific Financial by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 589,609 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,128,000 after acquiring an additional 158,111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.42% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Central Pacific Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday.

About Central Pacific Financial

Central Pacific Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management and digital banking, trust, and retail brokerage services, as well as money market accounts and certificates of deposit.