Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) Short Interest Update

Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,170,000 shares, a growth of 8.9% from the October 15th total of 10,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 3.0% of the company's shares are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Frank G. LapradeIii sold 15,751 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $2,520,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,153,760. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kara West sold 721 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.73, for a total value of $133,190.33. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,388,374.17. The trade was a 5.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,007 shares of company stock valued at $4,982,647. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Capital One Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COF. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 21,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,218,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,210,000 after buying an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,893,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,599,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,720 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 72.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 89,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,288,000 after acquiring an additional 37,426 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 68,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,145,000 after acquiring an additional 5,198 shares during the period. 89.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

COF traded up $2.14 on Friday, hitting $185.14. 4,122,382 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,819,630. The company has a 50 day moving average of $157.74 and a 200-day moving average of $146.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.43. Capital One Financial has a 12-month low of $104.21 and a 12-month high of $198.30.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.81. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.88 billion. Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 8.80%. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Capital One Financial will post 13.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Capital One Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on COF. Citigroup began coverage on Capital One Financial in a research note on Friday, September 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Capital One Financial from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Capital One Financial from $163.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Capital One Financial from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Capital One Financial from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $156.35.

About Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.