CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE) Short Interest Up 53.6% in September

Key Points

• CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CCNE) experienced a significant increase in short interest in September, rising by 53.6% to reach a total of 321,100 shares.
• The company reported earnings of $0.63 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.05, with revenues of $61.80 million.
• CNB Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, yielding 3.0%, with a payout ratio currently at 30.25%.

CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 321,100 shares, an increase of 53.6% from the September 15th total of 209,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 148,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 148,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

CNB Financial Trading Up 0.7%

CCNE traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $24.39. The company had a trading volume of 106,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 118,727. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $25.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. CNB Financial has a 12-month low of $19.32 and a 12-month high of $29.29. The company has a market cap of $719.02 million, a PE ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.68.

CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $61.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.97 million. CNB Financial had a return on equity of 9.79% and a net margin of 14.56%. Equities research analysts expect that CNB Financial will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

CNB Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. CNB Financial's payout ratio is presently 30.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CCNE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of CNB Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of CNB Financial in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CNB Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CCNE. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of CNB Financial by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. now owns 291,390 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,483,000 after acquiring an additional 79,312 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in CNB Financial in the first quarter worth about $2,158,000. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of CNB Financial by 11.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,508 shares of the bank's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CNB Financial by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,108,371 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,661,000 after buying an additional 3,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CNB Financial by 22.5% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 60,461 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,345,000 after buying an additional 11,112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.35% of the company's stock.

About CNB Financial

CNB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for CNB Bank that provides a range of banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; and offers real estate, commercial, industrial, residential, and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services.

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