Short Interest in C&F Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CFFI) Rises By 49.4%

C&F Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CFFI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 37,200 shares, an increase of 49.4% from the February 29th total of 24,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of C&F Financial by 4,606.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of C&F Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its stake in shares of C&F Financial by 1,167.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of C&F Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of C&F Financial by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 37.23% of the company’s stock.

C&F Financial Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:CFFI traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $49.00. 2,564 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,115. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. C&F Financial has a fifty-two week low of $47.63 and a fifty-two week high of $72.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.13 million, a P/E ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 0.33.

C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter. C&F Financial had a net margin of 15.56% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $31.75 million for the quarter.

C&F Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. C&F Financial’s payout ratio is 25.47%.

About C&F Financial

C&F Financial Corporation operates as a bank holding company for Citizens and Farmers Bank that provides banking services to individuals and businesses. It operates through three segments: Community Banking, Mortgage Banking, and Consumer Finance. The Community Banking segment offers various banking services, including checking and savings deposit accounts, as well as business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans.