Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Shares of Capitol Federal Financial (CFFN) crossed above their 200‑day moving average of $6.74, trading as high as $7.01 on Wednesday with roughly 1.21 million shares changing hands, signaling a bullish technical move.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.085 (from $0.04), equal to an annualized $0.34 and a yield of about 4.9% with a payout ratio near 60.7%.
• Analysts hold an average "Hold" rating with a mean price target of $7.25 (Keefe Bruyette & Woods lifted its target to $7.50); the firm beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.16 vs. $0.15), trades at a P/E of about 12.4, has a market cap near $901M, and roughly 88.5% of shares are held by institutions.

Shares of Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $6.74 and traded as high as $7.01. Capitol Federal Financial shares last traded at $6.94, with a volume of 1,214,789 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CFFN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Capitol Federal Financial in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Capitol Federal Financial from $6.50 to $7.50 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $7.25.

Capitol Federal Financial Trading Down 0.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $901.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $7.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.74.

Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The savings and loans company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.01. Capitol Federal Financial had a net margin of 16.98% and a return on equity of 6.99%. The firm had revenue of $56.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.02 million. Equities analysts expect that Capitol Federal Financial will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Capitol Federal Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Investors of record on Friday, February 6th were issued a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 6th. This is a positive change from Capitol Federal Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Capitol Federal Financial's payout ratio is presently 60.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Capitol Federal Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CFFN. HoldCo Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Capitol Federal Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $39,443,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Capitol Federal Financial by 384.4% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,122,725 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $7,129,000 after acquiring an additional 890,959 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Capitol Federal Financial by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,926,820 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $17,854,000 after acquiring an additional 785,339 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Capitol Federal Financial by 39.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,418,765 shares of the savings and loans company's stock valued at $14,754,000 after acquiring an additional 688,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Capitol Federal Financial by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,311,690 shares of the savings and loans company's stock worth $14,101,000 after purchasing an additional 469,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.51% of the company's stock.

About Capitol Federal Financial

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Through its principal subsidiary, Capitol Federal Savings Bank, the company provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services. These offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, home equity lines of credit and other consumer loan products. In addition, Capitol Federal Financial operates an active mortgage origination business, making residential mortgage loans both for its own portfolio and for sale in the secondary market.

Established in 1893, Capitol Federal has grown into one of the nation's largest mutual savings banks, emphasizing long-term customer relationships and conservative credit practices.

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