Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in CPB Inc. $CPF

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CPB Inc. (NYSE:CPF) by 94.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,499 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of CPB worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of CPB by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CPB by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 169,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 2,731 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in CPB by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in CPB by 433.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 293,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,932,000 after buying an additional 238,367 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in CPB in the first quarter worth $248,000. 88.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CPB Stock Performance

CPF stock opened at $39.10 on Friday. CPB Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.38 and a twelve month high of $40.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $77.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.69 million. CPB had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 14.20%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that CPB Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CPB Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from CPB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. CPB’s payout ratio is currently 37.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CPB from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CPB from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of CPB in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.33.

CPB 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.