CB Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBFV) Short Interest Up 506.7% in December

CB Financial Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBFV) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 27,300 shares, a growth of 506.7% from the December 15th total of 4,500 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 6,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

CB Financial Services Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of CBFV traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.26. The company had a trading volume of 5,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,290. CB Financial Services has a 52 week low of $20.75 and a 52 week high of $33.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $139.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.38.

CB Financial Services (NASDAQ:CBFV) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $21.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.60 million. CB Financial Services had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 24.51%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CB Financial Services will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

CB Financial Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. CB Financial Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CB Financial Services news, Chairman Mark E. Fox sold 3,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.50, for a total transaction of $111,447.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 11,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,541. This represents a 23.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Charles R. Guthrie sold 3,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.63, for a total transaction of $111,431.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $495,780.22. This trade represents a 18.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,703 shares of company stock valued at $247,995 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CB Financial Services

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CBFV. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in CB Financial Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $941,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of CB Financial Services by 12.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CB Financial Services by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 48,357 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,352,000 after buying an additional 4,295 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC purchased a new position in CB Financial Services in the 3rd quarter worth about $373,000. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its stake in CB Financial Services by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 29,255 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 33.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CBFV has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on CB Financial Services from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on CB Financial Services in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

CB Financial Services Company Profile

CB Financial Services, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Community Bank that provides various banking products and services for individuals and businesses in southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The company's primary deposit products include demand deposits, NOW accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, as well as time deposit products.