Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in CPB Inc. $CPF

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in CPB Inc. (NYSE:CPF) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 162,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,591 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CPB were worth $5,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of CPB by 3,169.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in CPB by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in CPB in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new position in CPB in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in CPB by 369.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 3,199 shares during the last quarter. 88.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CPB Stock Up 1.6%

CPF opened at $39.69 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.29. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.84. CPB Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.62 and a 1-year high of $40.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. CPB had a return on equity of 14.20% and a net margin of 22.52%.The company had revenue of $77.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.69 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CPB Inc. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

CPB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from CPB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. CPB’s payout ratio is presently 38.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CPF shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded CPB from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of CPB from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Benchmark began coverage on shares of CPB in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of CPB from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.33.

About CPB

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (NYSE: CPF) is a Thailand‐based integrated agro‐industrial and food conglomerate. Headquartered in Bangkok, the company is a subsidiary of the Charoen Pokphand Group and has grown into one of the world’s leading producers of livestock feed, meat and seafood products. CPF’s businesses span animal feed milling, animal breeding and hatchery operations, meat and seafood processing, and the distribution of fresh, frozen and value‐added food products.

CPF’s product portfolio includes poultry, swine and aquaculture feed; fresh and frozen chicken and pork; shrimp and other seafood; as well as ready‐to‐eat and ready‐to‐cook food items.