Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF)

Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 13,852 call options on the company. This is an increase of 52% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,098 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on COF. Bank of America upped their target price on Capital One Financial from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $163.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Capital One Financial in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Capital One Financial from $156.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Capital One Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.35.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COF traded up $24.84 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $190.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,156,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,529,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $72.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $151.92 and a 200-day moving average of $144.43. Capital One Financial has a 12 month low of $102.63 and a 12 month high of $198.30.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $4.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.81. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.88 billion. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 8.80% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Capital One Financial will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. Capital One Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Capital One Financial news, insider Frank G. LapradeIii sold 15,751 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $2,520,160.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 44,711 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,153,760. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,893,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,599,720,000 after acquiring an additional 226,720 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Capital One Financial by 72.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,128,089 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,145,761,000 after acquiring an additional 8,900,241 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Capital One Financial by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,663,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $507,203,000 after purchasing an additional 189,843 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,331,196 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $461,204,000 after purchasing an additional 79,908 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 0.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,216,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $181,155,000 after purchasing an additional 5,473 shares in the last quarter. 89.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Capital One Financial Company Profile

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.