Short Interest in CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) Declines By 33.2%

CVB Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:CVBF) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, a decrease of 33.2% from the August 31st total of 6,500,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 916,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CVBF. Stephens raised their price objective on CVB Financial from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of CVB Financial from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of CVB Financial in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.75.

CVB Financial Stock Performance

CVBF stock traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $17.73. 738,163 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,898. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.23. CVB Financial has a 12-month low of $14.62 and a 12-month high of $21.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.45.

CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.02. CVB Financial had a return on equity of 10.41% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $125.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $126.86 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that CVB Financial will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVB Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. CVB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.63%.

Insider Transactions at CVB Financial

In other CVB Financial news, Director Kimberly H. Sheehy sold 2,961 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.14, for a total transaction of $50,751.54. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,493.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVB Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CVB Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,701,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,014,000 after acquiring an additional 176,694 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in CVB Financial by 1.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,813,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $100,221,000 after acquiring an additional 58,774 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in CVB Financial by 16.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,649,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $97,399,000 after acquiring an additional 816,176 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVB Financial by 104.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,897,667 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,694,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994,369 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CVB Financial by 5.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,059,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,578,000 after buying an additional 144,587 shares during the period. 74.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.