Wall Street Zen Upgrades Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) to “Buy”

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jul 27th, 2026

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

COF has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Capital One Financial from $260.00 to $253.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Capital One Financial in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Capital One Financial in a research note on Monday, June 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $254.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Capital One Financial from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Capital One Financial from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.82.

View Our Latest Stock Report on COF

Capital One Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:COF opened at $202.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $200.21. Capital One Financial has a 52 week low of $174.24 and a 52 week high of $259.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $126.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.02.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The financial services provider reported $5.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.79 by $1.02. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 13.37% and a return on equity of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $15.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Capital One Financial will post 20.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Matthew W. Cooper sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.00, for a total transaction of $728,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 90,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,760,352. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Celia Karam sold 1,749 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.58, for a total value of $336,822.42. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 61,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,858,883.82. The trade was a 2.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 8,749 shares of company stock worth $1,708,577 over the last ninety days. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Capital One Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in Capital One Financial by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Capital One Financial by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Capital One Financial by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC grew its position in Capital One Financial by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 3,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Capital One Financial by 44.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 89.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Capital One Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Capital One Financial this week:

Positive Sentiment: Capital One’s Q2 results showed improved profitability, with the company swinging back to net income and posting higher net interest income, reinforcing the view that its core business momentum remains solid.
Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted bullish analyst sentiment, including Piper Sandler and Morgan Stanley maintaining buy ratings, while one note set a $260 price target, suggesting meaningful upside from current levels.
Positive Sentiment: Several articles pointed to Capital One’s technology and AI advantages, including its cloud-native infrastructure and open-source security tool VulnHunter, which support the company’s long-term competitive positioning.
Neutral Sentiment: Capital One is also being viewed as a value stock after earnings, with coverage noting that the shares trade at a discount to peers on forward earnings and tangible book value.
Negative Sentiment: The stock is facing overhang from legal and regulatory headlines, including a Zelle fraud lawsuit, a Canada data-breach settlement, and reports that customer payouts from a separate $425 million settlement may be delayed after an appeal.

About Capital One Financial

(Get Free Report)

Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE: COF) is a diversified bank holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The company’s core businesses include credit card lending, consumer and commercial banking, and auto finance. Capital One issues a wide range of credit card products for consumers and small businesses, and it operates deposit and digital banking services aimed at retail customers and small to midsize enterprises.

Products and services include credit and charge cards, checking and savings accounts (including the online-focused Capital One 360 platform), auto loans, and commercial lending solutions.