Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.27.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COF shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Capital One Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $168.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Capital One Financial from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Capital One Financial from $185.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Argus upgraded Capital One Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Capital One Financial from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th.

Capital One Financial Stock Up 1.4 %

COF opened at $196.54 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.06. Capital One Financial has a 1-year low of $128.23 and a 1-year high of $210.67. The stock has a market cap of $74.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.78 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $10.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.22 billion. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Capital One Financial will post 15.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital One Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Capital One Financial’s payout ratio is presently 20.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Capital One Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Capital One Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $590,279,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $577,012,000. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new position in Capital One Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $279,159,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Capital One Financial by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,077,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,440,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,436,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Group LP bought a new stake in shares of Capital One Financial during the fourth quarter worth $227,662,000. Institutional investors own 89.84% of the company’s stock.

About Capital One Financial

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.