Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Central Pacific Financial Price Performance

CPF stock opened at $29.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $802.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Central Pacific Financial has a 52-week low of $18.00 and a 52-week high of $33.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.41.

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.09. Central Pacific Financial had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 15.49%. Equities research analysts expect that Central Pacific Financial will post 2.75 EPS for the current year.

Central Pacific Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Central Pacific Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Central Pacific Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Central Pacific Financial by 4.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 640,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,901,000 after acquiring an additional 24,686 shares during the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Central Pacific Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,455,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 143.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,460,000 after purchasing an additional 268,719 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Central Pacific Financial by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 431,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,734,000 after purchasing an additional 26,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Central Pacific Financial by 24.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 295,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after buying an additional 58,009 shares during the period. 88.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.