Camden National Co. (NASDAQ:CAC) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Camden National Co. (NASDAQ:CAC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 621,500 shares, a growth of 7.2% from the September 30th total of 579,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 57,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.9 days. Approximately 4.4% of the company's stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Camden National

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CAC. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Camden National during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,943,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Camden National by 2,990.3% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 38,567 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 37,319 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Camden National by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 239,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,027,000 after buying an additional 28,007 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Camden National by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 836,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,605,000 after purchasing an additional 26,450 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Camden National during the second quarter valued at $757,000. 77.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CAC shares. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Camden National from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Camden National from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Camden National in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock.

Camden National Trading Up 0.5 %

CAC stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,933. The company has a market cap of $619.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.72. Camden National has a 12 month low of $28.00 and a 12 month high of $43.75. The business's 50 day moving average price is $39.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $72.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.07 million. Camden National had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 16.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Camden National will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Camden National Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Camden National's payout ratio is currently 55.81%.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system.