Short Interest in Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) Grows By 33.7%

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 577,700 shares, a growth of 33.7% from the December 31st total of 432,000 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 231,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Pacific Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 5.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,404,043 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,765,000 after purchasing an additional 77,868 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 77.9% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 31,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 13,609 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 59,486 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 3,361 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC boosted its position in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 41,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Central Pacific Financial by 14.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 17,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.42% of the company's stock.

Central Pacific Financial Price Performance

CPF traded down $0.58 on Monday, hitting $29.31. 164,786 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 233,919. Central Pacific Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.00 and a fifty-two week high of $33.25. The stock has a market cap of $793.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.09. Central Pacific Financial had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 12.03%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Central Pacific Financial will post 2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Central Pacific Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. This is a positive change from Central Pacific Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Central Pacific Financial's payout ratio is presently 52.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Central Pacific Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Central Pacific Financial Company Profile

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.