C&F Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CFFI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

C&F Financial Co. (NASDAQ:CFFI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 32,800 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the February 28th total of 27,300 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days.

C&F Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

C&F Financial stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $65.96. 8,475 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,940. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.66. C&F Financial has a twelve month low of $33.51 and a twelve month high of $89.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.69 million, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.33.

C&F Financial (NASDAQ:CFFI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter. C&F Financial had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 11.67%.

C&F Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from C&F Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. C&F Financial’s payout ratio is currently 30.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at C&F Financial

In other news, CEO Mark A. Fox sold 1,032 shares of C&F Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.00, for a total transaction of $83,592.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 11,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $891,405. The trade was a 8.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CFFI. Truffle Hound Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of C&F Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $5,344,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in C&F Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in C&F Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,598,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of C&F Financial by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of C&F Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. 37.23% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

C&F Financial Company Profile

C&F Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals and businesses. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Mortgage Banking and Consumer Finance. The Community Banking segment provides checking and savings deposit accounts, business, real estate, development, mortgage, home equity, and installment loans.