CVB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CVBF) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest surged 32.7% in March to 11,687,411 shares, equal to 9.2% of the shares outstanding and a days-to-cover ratio of 7.1.
• CVB declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 (ex-dividend April 1, payable April 15), implying a $0.80 annual payout and a 3.9% yield.
• Shares traded at $20.31 with a market cap of $2.76B and a P/E of 13.54, while Wall Street has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.17.

CVB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CVBF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 11,687,411 shares, an increase of 32.7% from the March 15th total of 8,810,665 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,638,974 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.1 days. Currently, 9.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

CVB Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CVBF traded down $0.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.31. 2,828,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,397,096. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. CVB Financial has a 1-year low of $17.22 and a 1-year high of $21.48. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $19.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.45.

CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40. CVB Financial had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 32.28%.The business had revenue of $133.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CVB Financial will post 1.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVB Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. CVB Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 53.33%.

Institutional Trading of CVB Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVBF. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in CVB Financial by 28.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 37,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 8,432 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVB Financial by 36.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 12,992 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of CVB Financial by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 3,442 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of CVB Financial by 848.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 15,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 13,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVB Financial by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 458,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,458,000 after buying an additional 38,250 shares in the last quarter. 74.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price target on CVB Financial from $21.00 to $22.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CVB Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $24.17.

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.

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