Short Interest in Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) Decreases By 5.4%

Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,300,000 shares, a decline of 5.4% from the March 15th total of 11,940,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

Shares of COF opened at $139.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.48. Capital One Financial has a 52-week low of $83.93 and a 52-week high of $149.27. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.24.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.45 billion. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 9.88% and a return on equity of 9.24%. Research analysts forecast that Capital One Financial will post 13.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Capital One Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Capital One Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Capital One Financial

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 1,658.3% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Capital One Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bartlett & Co. LLC lifted its position in Capital One Financial by 726.7% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & Co. LLC now owns 248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Capital One Financial by 726.7% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Capital One Financial in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 89.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Capital One Financial from $124.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Capital One Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Capital One Financial from $114.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Capital One Financial from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.05.

About Capital One Financial

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.