Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,170,000 shares, an increase of 8.9% from the October 15th total of 10,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Capital One Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:COF traded down $2.28 on Monday, reaching $182.86. The stock had a trading volume of 2,501,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,574,989. Capital One Financial has a 12-month low of $105.39 and a 12-month high of $198.30. The company has a market cap of $69.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $157.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $4.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.81. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.88 billion. Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 8.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Capital One Financial will post 13.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Capital One Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. Capital One Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kara West sold 721 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.73, for a total transaction of $133,190.33. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,929 shares in the company, valued at $2,388,374.17. The trade was a 5.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Frank G. LapradeIii sold 15,751 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $2,520,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 44,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,153,760. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,007 shares of company stock worth $4,982,647 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Capital One Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Capital One Financial by 5.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,976,000 after acquiring an additional 7,331 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Capital One Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,649,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Capital One Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $511,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Capital One Financial by 3.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 122,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,927,000 after acquiring an additional 3,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 7,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 4,234 shares during the period. 89.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on Capital One Financial from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Capital One Financial from $163.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $154.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Capital One Financial in a report on Friday, September 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Capital One Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.35.

Capital One Financial Company Profile

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.