CPB (NYSE:CPF) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

CPB Inc. (NYSE:CPF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $40.31 and last traded at $40.03, with a volume of 27672 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.06.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of CPB by 3,169.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of CPB by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in CPB in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in CPB in the third quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in CPB by 35.5% in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 88.42% of the company’s stock.

CPB Stock Down 0.0%

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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.84.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. CPB had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 14.20%. The company had revenue of $77.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CPB Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CPB Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is 37.18%.

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.