City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", with five of six covering analysts on hold and one on buy. The average 12-month price target is $134.25.
• The bank recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.20 per share versus estimates of $2.17, while revenue matched expectations at $79.25 million. It also announced a 1 million-share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share.
• Insider selling has been notable, with both the EVP and CEO recently selling shares. At the same time, institutional ownership remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors holding 72.43% of the stock.

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $134.25.

Several brokerages have weighed in on CHCO. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of City from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of City in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th.

City Stock Performance

Shares of CHCO opened at $134.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. City has a 52 week low of $113.21 and a 52 week high of $134.92. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.49.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $79.25 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.25 million. City had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 32.72%. On average, analysts expect that City will post 8.99 EPS for the current year.

City announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 25th that allows the company to buyback 1,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

City Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. City's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.33%.

Insider Activity at City

In other news, EVP Jeffrey Dale Legge sold 1,309 shares of City stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $163,625.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,656 shares in the company, valued at $957,000. This trade represents a 14.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles R. Hageboeck sold 1,858 shares of City stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.40, for a total transaction of $231,135.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 48,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,031,285.20. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 455 shares of company stock valued at $57,018 and sold 12,975 shares valued at $1,622,853. 1.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHCO. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of City by 136.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 123,803 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,335,000 after acquiring an additional 71,436 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in City by 63.2% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 77,039 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,543,000 after purchasing an additional 29,828 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in City by 11.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 212,093 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,272,000 after purchasing an additional 22,536 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in City by 55.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 61,686 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,373,000 after purchasing an additional 21,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of City in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,216,000. 72.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

City Company Profile

City Holding Company NASDAQ: CHCO is a bank holding company headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, City National Bank, the company offers a full range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Its operations emphasize community-oriented banking, combining local decision-making with access to digital banking platforms.

The company's product portfolio includes deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as consumer and commercial lending solutions ranging from personal loans and mortgages to commercial real estate and equipment financing.

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