Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $28.34 and last traded at $28.42, with a volume of 9032 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CIVB. Zacks Research upgraded Civista Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Civista Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Civista Bancshares from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.20.

Civista Bancshares Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $590.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.07.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.18. Civista Bancshares had a net margin of 19.73% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $47.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.64 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Civista Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Civista Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 5th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 5th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Civista Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.47%.

Institutional Trading of Civista Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Civista Bancshares by 1,092.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,474,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $29,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350,409 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 2,904.8% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 355,472 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,220,000 after purchasing an additional 343,642 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of Civista Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $5,584,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 19.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,021,787 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,752,000 after purchasing an additional 166,049 shares during the period. Finally, Maltese Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Civista Bancshares by 93.2% in the third quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 284,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,768,000 after buying an additional 137,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.10% of the company’s stock.

About Civista Bancshares

Civista Bancshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Saginaw, Michigan, operating through its wholly owned subsidiary, Civista Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and retail banking products and services to individuals, small- and mid-sized businesses, governmental entities and nonprofit organizations. Core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and industrial loans, consumer and residential real estate mortgages, master-planned construction financing and treasury management solutions.

Beyond traditional banking, Civista Bancshares provides wealth management, trust and investment advisory services under the Civista Wealth Enterprises brand.