Zacks Research Downgrades CPB (NYSE:CPF) to Hold

CPB (NYSE:CPF) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of CPB from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Benchmark initiated coverage on CPB in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.33.

CPB Price Performance

CPF stock opened at $37.80 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $973.26 million, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.26. CPB has a twelve month low of $27.38 and a twelve month high of $40.99.

CPB (NYSE:CPF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $77.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.69 million. CPB had a net margin of 22.52% and a return on equity of 14.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CPB will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CPB

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of CPB by 3,169.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of CPB by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CPB during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of CPB in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CPB by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,635 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. 88.42% of the stock is currently 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.