Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised City’s price target from $135 to $145 while maintaining a “market perform” rating, implying 4.23% potential upside. The broader analyst consensus remains “Hold,” with a $139.33 target price.
• City exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.35 in earnings per share versus the $2.23 consensus and revenue of $81.52 million versus $80.64 million expected.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 72.43%, while CEO Charles Hageboeck and Director Sharon Rowe recently sold shares. City stock opened at $139.12, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.95 billion.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.23% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on CHCO. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on City from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded City from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, City currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.33.

City Stock Down 0.5%

City stock opened at $139.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. City has a fifty-two week low of $113.21 and a fifty-two week high of $148.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.40.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. City had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 32.58%.The company had revenue of $81.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.64 million. Research analysts expect that City will post 9.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Charles R. Hageboeck sold 4,485 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.96, for a total transaction of $650,145.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 43,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,377,950.08. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sharon H. Rowe sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.96, for a total transaction of $57,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,522,520.96. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders bought a total of 444 shares of company stock valued at $59,740 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On City

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CHCO. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of City in the 2nd quarter valued at $270,231,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in City by 1.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 470,344 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,217,000 after buying an additional 8,992 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in City in the second quarter valued at $15,012,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in City by 2.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,262 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,398,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in City by 35.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 61,693 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,374,000 after buying an additional 16,060 shares in the last quarter. 72.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About City

City Holding Company NASDAQ: CHCO is a bank holding company headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia. Through its principal subsidiary, City National Bank of West Virginia, the company provides banking and financial services to consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations.

City National Bank offers checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgage lending, online and mobile banking, treasury management, and other deposit and credit products.

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