CNB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CCNE) Short Interest Down 21.5% in August

CNB Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CCNE) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 82,300 shares, a drop of 21.5% from the August 15th total of 104,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 43,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

CNB Financial Stock Performance

CCNE stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.45. 62,935 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,109. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. CNB Financial has a 1 year low of $17.45 and a 1 year high of $26.87. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.97. The company has a market cap of $513.55 million, a PE ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 0.69.

CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.05. CNB Financial had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $89.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.30 million. On average, equities analysts expect that CNB Financial will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CNB Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from CNB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. CNB Financial’s payout ratio is 30.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of CNB Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNB Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Petiole USA ltd boosted its stake in shares of CNB Financial by 148.3% in the fourth quarter. Petiole USA ltd now owns 168,241 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,801,000 after acquiring an additional 100,471 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNB Financial by 16.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 357,127 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,289,000 after buying an additional 51,080 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of CNB Financial by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 871,822 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,695,000 after buying an additional 42,908 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CNB Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,052,624 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,463,000 after acquiring an additional 15,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in CNB Financial by 73.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,632 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $604,000 after acquiring an additional 12,589 shares during the last quarter. 52.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CNB Financial

CNB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for CNB Bank that provides a range of banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; and offers real estate, commercial, industrial, residential, and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services.