Short Interest in Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE) Declines By 20.9%

Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,360,000 shares, a decline of 20.9% from the January 15th total of 5,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CADE. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Cadence Bank by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,284,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Cadence Bank by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cadence Bank by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Ironwood Investment Management LLC now owns 30,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Cadence Bank by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 53,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Cadence Bank by 11.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CADE shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Cadence Bank from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on shares of Cadence Bank in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised Cadence Bank from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Cadence Bank from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Cadence Bank in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cadence Bank has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.50.

Cadence Bank Price Performance

Cadence Bank stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,189,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,047. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.99. Cadence Bank has a 1-year low of $26.16 and a 1-year high of $40.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.89.

Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Cadence Bank had a net margin of 18.03% and a return on equity of 9.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cadence Bank will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Cadence Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Cadence Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Cadence Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 36.10%.

About Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank provides commercial banking and financial services. Its products and services include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized and asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, and correspondent banking services.