Central Pacific stock rebounds on Wall Street

The parent of Central Pacific Bank, whose stock hit an all-time low last week, has suddenly caught the eye of Wall Street.

Shares of Central Pacific Financial Corp., the state’s fourth-largest bank, jumped 15 percent Wednesday to post the second-largest percentage gain on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock rose $1.73 to close at $13.24 on heavy volume of 230,295 shares, more than three times its daily average. It was the biggest jump for the stock since Jan. 11 when it rose $4.40, or 17.8 percent.

Only Eastman Kodak Co. had a bigger move Wednesday as its shares catapulted 25.7 percent to $2.69 after investment firm MDB Capital Group said Kodak could be a takeover target because of patents it holds that may be worth five times more than the business itself.

Central Pacific’s spike came just days after Boston-based hedge fund Baupost Group LLC Holdings disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it purchased 1.8 million Central Pacific shares during the second quarter. Their shares were worth $25.2 million as of June 30. The purchase made Baupost the bank’s third-largest shareholder at 4.31 percent. Only Anchorage Capital Group and Carlyle Group, the two lead investors that spearheaded the bank’s $325 million recapitalization earlier this year, have larger holdings at 22.7 percent each, or 9.5 million shares.

Central Pacific spokesman Wayne Kirihara said the bank wasn’t aware of any specific reason for the one-day spike.

"We know we’ve been working hard at turning around the company and made significant progress with our assets and capitalization and two quarters of profitability," he said. "We’re pleased there seems to be more investor confidence in our company."

Seth Klarman, the president and founder of Baupost, said in an email that the company doesn’t comment on its investments.

However, Klarman, 54, is widely known as a deep value investor who in 1991 wrote a book entitled, "Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor." He founded Baupost in 1982.

Analyst Joe Gladue of Havorford, Pa.-based B. Riley & Co., said the stock may have been overdue for a bounce.

"I don’t know any specific reason for the move," he said. "It’s already been beaten down quite a bit along with the other banks so it might be because of some rebound."

Central Pacific, which implemented a 1-for-20 reverse stock split on Feb. 3, saw its stock fall to its lowest level ever when it hit a split-adjusted intraday low of $10.11 on Aug. 9 and closing low of $10.36 on Aug. 10. The $10 level may provide a floor for the stock since participants in the recapitalization, as well as eligible shareholders involved in a $20 million rights offering, were able to purchase shares at $10 apiece.

Gladue said in a July 28 research report that he was raising his earnings per share estimates for the company but reiterating his "neutral" rating for the stock and lowering his price target to $13.50 from $15. He said he was raising his 2011 EPS estimate to $3 from $2.96 and his 2012 estimate to 58 cents from 54 cents. He also established a 2013 estimate of 73 cents.