Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $233.01 and last traded at $232.21, with a volume of 687640 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COF shares. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Capital One Financial from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Capital One Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Capital One Financial in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Capital One Financial from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Capital One Financial in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $261.63.

Capital One Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $147.26 billion, a PE ratio of 97.61, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $215.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.06.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The financial services provider reported $5.95 EPS for the quarter. Capital One Financial had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 2.24%.The business had revenue of $15.46 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Capital One Financial Corporation will post 15.65 EPS for the current year.

Capital One Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This is an increase from Capital One Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Capital One Financial’s payout ratio is currently 135.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Capital One Financial

In other Capital One Financial news, CEO Richard D. Fairbank sold 103,487 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.68, for a total transaction of $22,837,511.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,001,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,990,995.04. This trade represents a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Neal Blinde sold 43,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.83, for a total transaction of $9,583,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 73,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,198,026.60. This trade represents a 37.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 280,218 shares of company stock valued at $62,395,804. 1.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Capital One Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its holdings in Capital One Financial by 103.3% during the 2nd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC boosted its position in Capital One Financial by 439.1% during the 2nd quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Capital One Financial in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 89.84% of the company’s stock.

Capital One Financial Company Profile

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.