Camden National Co. (NASDAQ:CAC) Short Interest Up 31.5% in September

Camden National Co. (NASDAQ:CAC) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 460,100 shares, an increase of 31.5% from the August 31st total of 349,900 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 65,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Camden National Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Camden National stock traded up $0.02 on Friday, hitting $40.08. The company had a trading volume of 61,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,605. Camden National has a 1 year low of $26.52 and a 1 year high of $43.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.69 and a 200-day moving average of $34.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $585.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.72.

Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $72.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.07 million. Camden National had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 16.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Camden National will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Camden National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Camden National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Camden National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAC. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Camden National in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Camden National by 89.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 7,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Camden National in the fourth quarter worth $294,000. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Camden National in the 2nd quarter valued at $349,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Camden National by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CAC. Stephens upped their price target on Camden National from $35.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Camden National in a report on Sunday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Camden National from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system.