CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

CNB Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ CCNE opened at $25.48 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.74. CNB Financial has a 12-month low of $17.45 and a 12-month high of $26.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $535.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.69.

CNB Financial (NASDAQ:CCNE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.04. CNB Financial had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $94.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.40 million. Research analysts expect that CNB Financial will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

CNB Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is a boost from CNB Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. CNB Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CNB Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCNE. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNB Financial by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 357,127 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,289,000 after acquiring an additional 51,080 shares during the period. Unison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNB Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $692,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of CNB Financial by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,685 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,280,000 after acquiring an additional 24,666 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CNB Financial by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,052,624 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,463,000 after acquiring an additional 15,870 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of CNB Financial by 73.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,632 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 12,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.35% of the company’s stock.

CNB Financial Company Profile

CNB Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for CNB Bank that provides a range of banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; and offers real estate, commercial, industrial, residential, and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services.