Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on COF. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Capital One Financial from $224.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Capital One Financial from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Evercore lowered their target price on Capital One Financial from $265.00 to $222.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Capital One Financial from $275.00 to $235.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Capital One Financial from $260.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Capital One Financial currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.36.

Capital One Financial Price Performance

NYSE COF opened at $222.00 on Friday. Capital One Financial has a 12 month low of $174.24 and a 12 month high of $259.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $5.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.79 by $1.02. The firm had revenue of $15.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.76 billion. Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 11.28% and a net margin of 13.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Capital One Financial will post 20.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Capital One Financial’s payout ratio is presently 19.80%.

Insider Transactions at Capital One Financial

In other news, General Counsel Matthew W. Cooper sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.00, for a total transaction of $728,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 90,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,760,352. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Timothy P. Golden sold 3,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.00, for a total value of $735,757.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,567,519. This represents a 31.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 20,213 shares of company stock valued at $4,147,832 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Capital One Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 529.4% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Capital One Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Capital One Financial by 1,312.5% in the 4th quarter. Cherry Tree Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Capital One Financial in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Capital One Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. 89.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Capital One Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Capital One Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings momentum: Capital One’s latest quarter produced $5.81 in earnings per share, well above the $4.79 analyst consensus, while revenue increased 26.9% year over year to $15.83 billion. The earnings beat and robust revenue growth provide fundamental support for the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Positive momentum and analyst attention: Zacks characterized COF as a strong momentum stock, and Goldman Sachs reportedly included a major financial company on its August conviction list. Such recognition may encourage additional investor interest. Zacks momentum stock article Goldman Sachs conviction list article
• Positive Sentiment: Payments expansion remains a potential growth driver: Industry coverage highlighted Capital One’s efforts to move beyond basic payments through money movement, tokenization, data and other value-added services. These initiatives could improve customer retention and support longer-term revenue growth. Card networks growth strategy article
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling was conducted under a preset plan: Ravi Raghu sold 9,726 COF shares for approximately $2.04 million, reducing his holdings by about 27%. The size of the sale may attract attention, but its execution under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan makes it a relatively weak discretionary bearish signal. Capital One insider sale article
• Negative Sentiment: Trump Organization account closures create headline risk: Capital One disclosed that it closed hundreds of Trump Organization-related accounts in 2021 after a months-long anti-money-laundering review. The bank did not accuse the organization of money laundering and said the decision was based on transaction patterns covered by federal guidance, but the disclosure could fuel political scrutiny and reputational concerns. Banking Dive AML review article

About Capital One Financial

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company’s core businesses include credit card lending, consumer and commercial banking, and auto finance. Capital One issues a wide range of credit card products for consumers and small businesses, and it operates deposit and digital banking services aimed at retail customers and small to midsize enterprises.

Products and services include credit and charge cards, checking and savings accounts (including the online-focused Capital One 360 platform), auto loans, and commercial lending solutions.