Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 9,860,000 shares, a growth of 9.3% from the September 15th total of 9,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin S. Borgmann sold 61,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.86, for a total transaction of $8,175,141.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 40,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,438,491.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 3,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 44,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,613,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Capital One Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,956,000. 89.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Capital One Financial from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Capital One Financial from $166.00 to $163.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Capital One Financial from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Capital One Financial in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.56.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

COF traded up $1.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $159.77. The stock had a trading volume of 2,771,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,443,816. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00. Capital One Financial has a twelve month low of $88.23 and a twelve month high of $160.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $145.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.33.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.28 by ($0.14). Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 9.31% and a net margin of 9.01%. The business had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.52 earnings per share. Capital One Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Capital One Financial will post 12.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. Capital One Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.79%.

Capital One Financial Company Profile

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.