CPB (NYSE:CPF) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of CPB Inc. (NYSE:CPF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.68 and last traded at $33.97, with a volume of 22607 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of CPB from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CPB in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

CPB Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $928.51 million, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.98 and its 200 day moving average is $30.27.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.12. CPB had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The company had revenue of $76.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.43 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that CPB Inc. will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

CPB Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from CPB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. CPB’s payout ratio is 39.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CPB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CPF. HoldCo Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of CPB by 107.8% in the third quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 2,281,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,206,000 after buying an additional 1,183,399 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CPB by 433.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 293,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,932,000 after acquiring an additional 238,367 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of CPB by 371.1% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 114,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,216,000 after acquiring an additional 90,385 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of CPB by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 885,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after acquiring an additional 88,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in CPB by 335.2% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 86,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,426,000 after purchasing an additional 66,642 shares during the last quarter. 88.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CPB Company Profile

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (NYSE: CPF) is a Thailand‐based integrated agro‐industrial and food conglomerate. Headquartered in Bangkok, the company is a subsidiary of the Charoen Pokphand Group and has grown into one of the world’s leading producers of livestock feed, meat and seafood products. CPF’s businesses span animal feed milling, animal breeding and hatchery operations, meat and seafood processing, and the distribution of fresh, frozen and value‐added food products.

CPF’s product portfolio includes poultry, swine and aquaculture feed; fresh and frozen chicken and pork; shrimp and other seafood; as well as ready‐to‐eat and ready‐to‐cook food items.