CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CVB Financial in a report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVB Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.33.

CVB Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CVBF opened at $20.00 on Friday. CVB Financial has a 1 year low of $16.01 and a 1 year high of $23.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.10 and its 200 day moving average is $19.45.

CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. CVB Financial had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 31.95%.The firm had revenue of $128.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.10 million. Research analysts anticipate that CVB Financial will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

CVB Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. CVB Financial’s payout ratio is 54.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVB Financial news, Director George A. Borba, Jr. purchased 27,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $18.45 per share, for a total transaction of $499,884.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 745,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,759,677.90. The trade was a 3.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVB Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVBF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in CVB Financial by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,110,009 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,452,000 after purchasing an additional 147,061 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVB Financial by 3.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,956,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,997,000 after buying an additional 69,774 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of CVB Financial by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,699,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,146,000 after buying an additional 140,721 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CVB Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,320,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in CVB Financial by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,095,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,720,000 after acquiring an additional 249,490 shares in the last quarter. 74.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CVB Financial

CVB Financial Corp. operates as a bank holding company for Citizens Business Bank, a state-chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. It offers checking, savings, money market, and time certificates of deposit products for business and personal accounts; and serves as a federal tax depository for business customers.