CPB (NYSE:CPF) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of CPB (NYSE:CPF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

CPF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CPB from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of CPB from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of CPB in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of CPB from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CPB has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

CPB Stock Performance

Shares of CPF opened at $39.44 on Tuesday. CPB has a 1 year low of $25.62 and a 1 year high of $40.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $36.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 0.84.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.69 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CPB will post 3.36 EPS for the current year.

CPB Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from CPB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. CPB’s dividend payout ratio is 37.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of CPB by 3,169.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of CPB by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in CPB during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in CPB during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in CPB by 35.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.42% of the company’s stock.

CPB Company Profile

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.