Short Interest in Camden National Co. (NASDAQ:CAC) Rises By 7.2%

Camden National Co. (NASDAQ:CAC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 621,500 shares, an increase of 7.2% from the September 30th total of 579,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 57,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 10.9 days. Approximately 4.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Camden National

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Camden National by 89.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Camden National by 2,990.3% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 38,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 37,319 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Camden National by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,123,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Camden National by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 239,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,027,000 after purchasing an additional 28,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Camden National by 43.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares in the last quarter. 77.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CAC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Camden National from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Camden National in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Camden National from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

Camden National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CAC traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.93. 20,000 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,846. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.98. Camden National has a 1-year low of $28.62 and a 1-year high of $43.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $610.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.72.

Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $75.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.90 million. Camden National had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 10.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Camden National will post 3.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Camden National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Camden National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.50%.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system.