Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) Increases Dividend to $0.27 Per Share

Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE:CPF) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.27 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Central Pacific Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26.

Central Pacific Financial has increased its dividend payment by an average of 2.7% annually over the last three years. Central Pacific Financial has a payout ratio of 37.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Central Pacific Financial to earn $2.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.4%.

Central Pacific Financial Price Performance

NYSE:CPF traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $29.51. The stock had a trading volume of 378,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,467. The stock has a market capitalization of $798.73 million, a PE ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 1.19. Central Pacific Financial has a 52 week low of $18.00 and a 52 week high of $33.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.19.

Central Pacific Financial (NYSE:CPF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.09. Central Pacific Financial had a net margin of 16.10% and a return on equity of 11.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Central Pacific Financial will post 2.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Central Pacific Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

About Central Pacific Financial

Central Pacific Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides a range of commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in the United States. It offers various deposit products and services, including checking, savings and time deposits, cash management and digital banking, trust, and retail brokerage services, as well as money market accounts and certificates of deposit.