Short Interest in Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) Declines By 31.8%

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 432,000 shares, a decline of 31.8% from the November 30th total of 633,100 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 230,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Central Pacific Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 0.6% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 152,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 949 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $11,442,000 after buying an additional 76,957 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Central Pacific Financial by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 663,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,060,000 after buying an additional 63,862 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in Central Pacific Financial by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 34,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 10,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 17.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 511,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,846,000 after acquiring an additional 77,265 shares during the last quarter. 88.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Central Pacific Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:CPF traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.78. The company had a trading volume of 143,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,842. The firm has a market cap of $778.93 million, a PE ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 1.18. Central Pacific Financial has a 1-year low of $18.00 and a 1-year high of $33.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Central Pacific Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Central Pacific Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.52%.

About Central Pacific Financial

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.