City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• City Holding (NASDAQ:CHCO) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $133.78, after recently closing at $132.72.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $134.25, though Weiss Ratings reiterated a Buy and Hovde raised its target to $135.
• The bank continues to show solid fundamentals, including a recent earnings beat of $2.20 EPS vs. $2.17 expected, a quarterly dividend of $0.87 per share, and a new share repurchase authorization for up to 1 million shares.

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $133.78 and last traded at $132.9720, with a volume of 23942 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $132.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHCO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of City in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Hovde Group lifted their target price on City from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, City has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.25.

City Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $125.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.03. City had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 32.72%.The business had revenue of $79.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.25 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that City Holding Company will post 8.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

City Dividend Announcement

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

City declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback 1,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at City

In other City news, CEO Charles R. Hageboeck sold 5,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.30, for a total transaction of $733,631.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,341 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,307,727.30. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dale Legge sold 1,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $163,625.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $957,000. This represents a 14.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 455 shares of company stock worth $57,018 and have sold 12,975 shares worth $1,622,853. 1.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of City

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHCO. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in City by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,586 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of City by 34.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,977 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of City by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,634 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of City in the first quarter worth $104,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of City by 7.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,285 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,497,000 after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares in the last quarter. 72.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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