CPB (NYSE:CPF) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Zacks Research

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

CPF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Benchmark assumed coverage on CPB in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded CPB from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CPB presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.33.

CPB Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of CPB stock opened at $37.80 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.26. CPB has a 1 year low of $27.38 and a 1 year high of $40.99. The company has a market capitalization of $973.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $77.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.69 million. CPB had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 14.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CPB will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

CPB Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from CPB’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. CPB’s payout ratio is presently 38.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CPB

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in shares of CPB in the second quarter valued at approximately $900,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of CPB during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,926,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CPB by 94.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 13,499 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of CPB by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 83,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 18,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in shares of CPB in the first quarter worth $688,000. 88.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.