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

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) was the recipient of a large 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 184,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Central Pacific Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CPF traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.12. The stock had a trading volume of 152,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,065. The firm has a market cap of $544.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Central Pacific Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.22 and a fifty-two week high of $22.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.13 and a 200-day moving average of $18.54.

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $61.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.78 million. Central Pacific Financial had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 16.44%. Equities research analysts predict that Central Pacific Financial will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Central Pacific Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Central Pacific Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.73%.

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 on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.32, for a total value of $64,393.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 88,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,713,471.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,999 shares of company stock worth $192,547. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Pacific Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CPF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Central Pacific Financial by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,248,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,562,000 after purchasing an additional 112,105 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Central Pacific Financial by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 842,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,583,000 after buying an additional 20,929 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Central Pacific Financial by 79.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 648,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,814,000 after buying an additional 286,110 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Central Pacific Financial by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 547,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,773,000 after buying an additional 54,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in Central Pacific Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 475,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,932,000 after buying an additional 18,862 shares in the last quarter. 88.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.