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

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 297,600 shares, a growth of 100.7% from the September 15th total of 148,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 104,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 104,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CIVB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Civista Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson set a $26.00 price target on shares of Civista Bancshares and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Civista Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Civista Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered Civista Bancshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.80.

Civista Bancshares Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of CIVB stock opened at $19.97 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $20.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $385.62 million, a P/E ratio of 7.89 and a beta of 0.73. Civista Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $17.47 and a fifty-two week high of $25.59.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $41.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.07 million. Civista Bancshares had a net margin of 15.83% and a return on equity of 9.77%. Research analysts expect that Civista Bancshares will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Civista Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 5th. Civista Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 26.88%.

Insider Transactions at Civista Bancshares

In related news, Director Nathan E. Weaks purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.88 per share, with a total value of $39,760.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,666.04. The trade was a 31.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 3,500 shares of company stock valued at $69,085. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 217,777 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 26,461 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 28.3% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 148,560 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,903,000 after acquiring an additional 32,760 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Civista Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth $1,594,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Civista Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth $415,000. 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.10% of the company’s stock.

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.