Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) Short Interest Up 11.0% in November

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 633,100 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the November 15th total of 570,400 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 221,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CPF. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Central Pacific Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $15,455,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 143.4% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 456,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,460,000 after purchasing an additional 268,719 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,765,000 after purchasing an additional 77,868 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 511,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,846,000 after purchasing an additional 77,265 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 539,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,442,000 after purchasing an additional 76,957 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.42% of the company’s stock.

Central Pacific Financial Price Performance

Shares of CPF stock opened at $30.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $836.73 million, a P/E ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 1.18. Central Pacific Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $33.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Central Pacific Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Central Pacific Financial’s payout ratio is presently 49.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Central Pacific Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Central Pacific Financial Company Profile

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.