Short Interest in CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE) Decreases By 19.5%

CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:CCNE) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 289,569 shares, a drop of 19.5% from the January 29th total of 359,640 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 178,065 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 178,065 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on CCNE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNB Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Stephens lifted their price target on CNB Financial from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CNB Financial in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNB Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of CNB Financial by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,271 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in CNB Financial by 29.9% in the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,660 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in CNB Financial by 46.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,995 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in CNB Financial by 35.5% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,590 shares of the bank’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in CNB Financial by 6.1% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,389 shares of the bank’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. 52.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CNB Financial Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of CCNE stock opened at $28.27 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. CNB Financial has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $30.84. The firm has a market cap of $833.40 million, a P/E ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.71.

CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.10. CNB Financial had a net margin of 15.29% and a return on equity of 11.83%. The company had revenue of $87.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.10 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CNB Financial will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

CNB Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is an increase from CNB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. CNB Financial’s payout ratio is 31.28%.

CNB Financial Company Profile

CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CCNE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, CNB Bank & Trust, providing a full suite of community banking services. With a focus on relationship-driven banking, CNB Financial seeks to serve individuals, small businesses and agricultural clients across central Pennsylvania.

The company’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit.