Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 184,900 shares, a decrease of 14.6% from the April 30th total of 216,400 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 38,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Dennis E. Murray, Jr. acquired 6,143 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.44 per share, for a total transaction of $137,848.92. Following the purchase, the chairman now owns 19,162 shares in the company, valued at $429,995.28. The trade was a 47.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 27,208 shares of the bank's stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the bank's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 43.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the bank's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 11,773 shares of the bank's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 21,181 shares of the bank's stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. 52.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CIVB shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Civista Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Civista Bancshares from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Civista Bancshares from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Civista Bancshares from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.20.

Civista Bancshares Price Performance

CIVB stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,645. Civista Bancshares has a 12 month low of $13.60 and a 12 month high of $24.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $337.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.16.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.16. Civista Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 12.96%. The business had revenue of $40.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.33 million. On average, analysts expect that Civista Bancshares will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Civista Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Civista Bancshares's payout ratio is 29.96%.

Civista Bancshares Company Profile

Civista Bancshares, Inc operates as the financial holding company for Civista Bank that provides community banking services. It collects a range of customer deposits; and offers commercial and agriculture, commercial and residential real estate, farm real estate, real estate construction, consumer, and other loans, as well as letters of credit.