Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) Short Interest Update

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 141,600 shares, a growth of 9.8% from the August 31st total of 129,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 51,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Civista Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of Civista Bancshares stock traded down $0.14 on Tuesday, hitting $17.68. 15,918 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,937. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.80. Civista Bancshares has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $19.00.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.05. Civista Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.24% and a net margin of 14.48%. The company had revenue of $61.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Civista Bancshares will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Civista Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. Civista Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 27.47%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Julie A. Mattlin acquired 2,000 shares of Civista Bancshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $15.60 per share, for a total transaction of $31,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,095.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Civista Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Civista Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $323,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Civista Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth about $274,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Civista Bancshares by 10,347.5% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 12,746 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $197,000 after acquiring an additional 12,624 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Civista Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L acquired a new position in shares of Civista Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. 52.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up previously from $18.00) on shares of Civista Bancshares in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Civista Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Civista Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.25.

About Civista Bancshares

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.