Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) Short Interest Update

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 691,100 shares, a growth of 55.8% from the March 31st total of 443,600 shares. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 184,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Insider Activity at Central Pacific Financial

In related news, Director Agnes Catherine Ngo sold 3,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.32, for a total transaction of $64,393.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,689 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,713,471.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,999 shares of company stock worth $192,547. 2.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Pacific Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Central Pacific Financial by 660.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Central Pacific Financial by 11.8% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 77.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 12,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Central Pacific Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. 88.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Central Pacific Financial from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st.

Central Pacific Financial Stock Performance

CPF stock traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $20.26. 57,150 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,483. Central Pacific Financial has a twelve month low of $13.22 and a twelve month high of $22.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $547.83 million, a P/E ratio of 9.88 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.59.

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.03. Central Pacific Financial had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 16.44%. The business had revenue of $61.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.78 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Central Pacific Financial will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Central Pacific Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.13%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Central Pacific Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 50.73%.

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.