Short Interest in CVB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CVBF) Increases By 41.5%

CVB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CVBF) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,092,678 shares, a growth of 41.5% from the December 15th total of 4,305,349 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,971,847 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,971,847 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.1 days. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVB Financial

In other news, Director George A. Borba, Jr. acquired 27,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $18.45 per share, with a total value of $499,884.30. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 745,782 shares in the company, valued at $13,759,677.90. This represents a 3.77% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVB Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in CVB Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of CVB Financial by 394.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVB Financial by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 4,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CVB Financial in the second quarter worth about $103,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in CVB Financial by 13.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. 74.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CVB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. DA Davidson raised their target price on CVB Financial from $21.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CVB Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVB Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.88.

CVB Financial Price Performance

CVBF opened at $19.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $19.40 and its 200 day moving average is $19.51. CVB Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.01 and a fifty-two week high of $21.41.

CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $128.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.10 million. CVB Financial had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 31.95%. On average, equities research analysts expect that CVB Financial will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

CVB Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. CVB Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.79%.

CVB Financial Company Profile

CVB Financial Corp is the bank holding company for Citizens Business Bank, a California-based commercial bank whose operations trace back to 1974. Headquartered in Ontario, California, the company provides a broad range of banking and financial services through its community-focused branch network. As a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ under the symbol CVBF, CVB Financial oversees strategic planning, corporate governance and long-term growth initiatives for its subsidiary.

The company’s core business activities include commercial lending, real estate financing, equipment leasing and Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs.