City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a cautious view on City Holding: The stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating from six covering firms, with five holds and one buy. The average price target is $134.25.
• Insiders recently sold shares: EVP Jeffrey Dale Legge and CFO David L. Bumgarner both sold stock in May, and insiders have sold far more shares than they bought over the last 90 days. Company insiders currently own 1.75% of the stock.
• City continues to show solid fundamentals and shareholder returns: The bank beat quarterly EPS estimates and maintains a 2.8% dividend yield with a quarterly payout of $0.87 per share. It also has an authorized 1 million-share buyback program.

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

CHCO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of City in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of City from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Activity at City

In related news, EVP Jeffrey Dale Legge sold 1,309 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $957,000. This trade represents a 14.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David L. Bumgarner sold 1,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.50, for a total transaction of $144,544.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,327,917. This represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,008 shares of company stock worth $121,099 and sold 12,975 shares worth $1,622,853. Company insiders own 1.75% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in City by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the bank's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of City by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,740 shares of the bank's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of City by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd raised its holdings in shares of City by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 2,135 shares of the bank's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its holdings in shares of City by 146.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.43% of the company's stock.

City Stock Performance

City stock opened at $123.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.76. City has a 1-year low of $113.21 and a 1-year high of $133.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.50.

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

City Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. City's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.33%.

City declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 25th that authorizes the company to buyback 1,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

About City

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.