Wall Street Zen Upgrades LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) to "Buy"

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

LCNB Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LCNB traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.25. The stock had a trading volume of 384 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,676. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.20. LCNB has a twelve month low of $12.42 and a twelve month high of $17.92. The firm has a market cap of $201.88 million, a PE ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.64.

LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.06). LCNB had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $21.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.80 million. Research analysts predict that LCNB will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LCNB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. LCNB's payout ratio is 76.52%.

Institutional Trading of LCNB

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LCNB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in LCNB by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,803 shares of the bank's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of LCNB by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 27,400 shares of the bank's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in LCNB by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 51,261 shares of the bank's stock valued at $776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in LCNB by 5.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 38,804 shares of the bank's stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management acquired a new position in LCNB in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.73% of the company's stock.

About LCNB

LCNB Corp. operates as the financial holding company for LCNB National Bank that provides banking services in Ohio. Its deposit products include checking accounts, demand deposits, savings accounts, NOW and money market deposits, as well as individual retirement accounts and time certificates. The company's loan products comprise commercial and industrial, commercial and residential real estate, agricultural, construction, and small business administration loans; and residential mortgage loans that consists of loans for purchasing or refinancing personal residences, home equity lines of credit, and loans for commercial or consumer purposes secured by residential mortgages.