Capital One Financial Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:COF)

Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 8,398 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 34% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,287 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COF shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Capital One Financial from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $159.00 target price on shares of Capital One Financial in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Capital One Financial from $134.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Capital One Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on Capital One Financial in a research report on Friday, June 7th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.20.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

COF stock traded up $2.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $140.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,573,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,517,299. The firm has a market cap of $53.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $139.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.19. Capital One Financial has a 52 week low of $88.23 and a 52 week high of $149.94.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.25 by ($0.04). Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 10.19%. The business had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Capital One Financial will post 13.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital One Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Capital One Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timothy P. Golden sold 8,656 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.04, for a total transaction of $1,246,810.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,475,833.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Capital One Financial news, insider Celia Karam sold 16,913 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.88, for a total value of $2,416,529.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,081 shares in the company, valued at $6,726,933.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy P. Golden sold 8,656 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.04, for a total value of $1,246,810.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,246 shares in the company, valued at $1,475,833.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Capital One Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COF. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Capital One Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 33,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Capital One Financial by 224.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 15,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,497,000 after purchasing an additional 10,669 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Capital One Financial by 48.3% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 418,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,593,000 after buying an additional 136,224 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 4.4% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 151,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,754,000 after buying an additional 6,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 7.8% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 10,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. 89.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.