CPB Inc. (NYSE:CPF) Short Interest Update

CPB Inc. (NYSE:CPF) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 372,802 shares, a drop of 13.0% from the January 15th total of 428,636 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 171,890 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 171,890 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CPB in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of CPB from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CPB

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CPB by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of CPB by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments lifted its holdings in CPB by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 18,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in CPB by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 44,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,383,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CPB by 0.3% during the third quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC now owns 184,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,590,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.42% of the company’s stock.

CPB Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CPB stock opened at $34.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CPB has a 1 year low of $23.16 and a 1 year high of $35.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.64. The company has a market cap of $922.76 million, a P/E ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.96.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.12. CPB had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $76.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.43 million. As a group, analysts expect that CPB will post 2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CPB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from CPB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. CPB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.16%.

CPB Company Profile

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (NYSE: CPF) is a Thailand?based integrated agro?industrial and food conglomerate. Headquartered in Bangkok, the company is a subsidiary of the Charoen Pokphand Group and has grown into one of the world’s leading producers of livestock feed, meat and seafood products. CPF’s businesses span animal feed milling, animal breeding and hatchery operations, meat and seafood processing, and the distribution of fresh, frozen and value?added food products.

CPF’s product portfolio includes poultry, swine and aquaculture feed; fresh and frozen chicken and pork; shrimp and other seafood; as well as ready?to?eat and ready?to?cook food items.