Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFFN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFFN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,320,000 shares, a growth of 9.9% from the July 31st total of 3,930,000 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 886,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.9 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey M. Johnson acquired 10,000 shares of Capitol Federal Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $5.12 per share, with a total value of $51,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 97,900 shares in the company, valued at $501,248. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CFFN. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Capitol Federal Financial by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 4,340,076 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $23,827,000 after acquiring an additional 203,200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Capitol Federal Financial by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,943,860 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $12,538,000 after purchasing an additional 150,482 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Capitol Federal Financial by 59.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,494,969 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $8,207,000 after purchasing an additional 560,103 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Capitol Federal Financial by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 831,779 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $4,566,000 after purchasing an additional 182,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Capitol Federal Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $5,054,000. 88.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Capitol Federal Financial Price Performance

CFFN stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.01. 458,675 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 796,373. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a market cap of $797.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 0.50. Capitol Federal Financial has a fifty-two week low of $4.22 and a fifty-two week high of $6.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.56.

Capitol Federal Financial (NASDAQ:CFFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The savings and loans company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.11 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $99.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.23 million. Capitol Federal Financial had a positive return on equity of 4.02% and a negative net margin of 33.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Capitol Federal Financial will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Capitol Federal Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.085 dividend. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 1st. Capitol Federal Financial’s payout ratio is -36.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CFFN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Capitol Federal Financial from $6.00 to $6.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Capitol Federal Financial from $5.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Capitol Federal Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Capitol Federal Financial Company Profile

Capitol Federal Financial, Inc operates as the holding company for Capitol Federal Savings Bank that provides various retail banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts a range of deposit products, including savings accounts, money market accounts, interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing checking accounts, and certificates of deposit.