CPB (NYSE:CPF) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

CPB Inc. (NYSE:CPF)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $35.50 and last traded at $35.3080, with a volume of 37778 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPF has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CPB in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of CPB from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of CPB from $39.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

CPB Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $917.91 million, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.55.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. CPB had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 21.96%.The business had revenue of $72.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.30 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CPB Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CPB Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. CPB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.80%.

Institutional Trading of CPB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. HoldCo Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of CPB by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 2,427,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,643,000 after purchasing an additional 146,547 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in CPB by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,079,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,790,000 after purchasing an additional 24,933 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CPB by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,046,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,602,000 after purchasing an additional 12,206 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in CPB by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 885,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 88,028 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in CPB by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 803,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,386,000 after buying an additional 58,207 shares in the last quarter. 88.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CPB

Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (NYSE: CPF) is a Thailand‐based integrated agro‐industrial and food conglomerate. Headquartered in Bangkok, the company is a subsidiary of the Charoen Pokphand Group and has grown into one of the world’s leading producers of livestock feed, meat and seafood products. CPF’s businesses span animal feed milling, animal breeding and hatchery operations, meat and seafood processing, and the distribution of fresh, frozen and value‐added food products.

CPF’s product portfolio includes poultry, swine and aquaculture feed; fresh and frozen chicken and pork; shrimp and other seafood; as well as ready‐to‐eat and ready‐to‐cook food items.