CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,550,000 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the July 15th total of 6,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 770,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.5 days. Approximately 5.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of CVB Financial in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of CVB Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Hovde Group lowered shares of CVB Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of CVB Financial from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of CVB Financial from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kimberly H. Sheehy sold 2,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total transaction of $50,751.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,156 shares in the company, valued at $225,493.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other CVB Financial news, Director George A. Borba, Jr. purchased 4,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.00 per share, for a total transaction of $73,760.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 665,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,641,936. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly H. Sheehy sold 2,961 shares of CVB Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total transaction of $50,751.54. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,156 shares in the company, valued at $225,493.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CVB Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVBF. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of CVB Financial by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 35,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CVB Financial by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 77,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 5,867 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of CVB Financial by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 56,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,502 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of CVB Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of CVB Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 74.18% of the company’s stock.

CVB Financial Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of CVBF traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $17.27. The stock had a trading volume of 562,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 828,959. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.11. CVB Financial has a one year low of $14.62 and a one year high of $21.77. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.47.

CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $125.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.86 million. CVB Financial had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 10.41%. CVB Financial’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CVB Financial will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVB Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 11th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. CVB Financial’s payout ratio is 52.63%.

About CVB Financial

CVB Financial Corp. operates as a bank holding company for Citizens Business Bank, a state-chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. It offers checking, savings, money market, and time certificates of deposit products for business and personal accounts; and serves as a federal tax depository for business customers.