LCNB Corp. (NASDAQ:LCNB) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

LCNB Corp. (NASDAQ:LCNB) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 106,800 shares, a decrease of 22.7% from the November 30th total of 138,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.4 days.

LCNB Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of LCNB opened at $14.94 on Friday. LCNB has a 52-week low of $12.42 and a 52-week high of $17.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.21. The company has a market capitalization of $210.80 million, a PE ratio of 29.29 and a beta of 0.77.

LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $32.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.30 million. LCNB had a net margin of 5.88% and a return on equity of 6.39%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that LCNB will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

LCNB Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. LCNB’s dividend payout ratio is presently 172.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of LCNB by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 299,492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,514,000 after purchasing an additional 19,687 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors purchased a new position in LCNB during the second quarter worth about $231,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of LCNB by 268.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,446 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 14,904 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of LCNB by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 25,413 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 13,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of LCNB in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $172,000. 34.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LCNB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of LCNB from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on LCNB in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.25 target price on the 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.