City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . 61,875 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session’s volume of 115,075 shares.The stock last traded at $135.4070 and had previously closed at $135.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CHCO shares. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of City from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of City from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.25.

City Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $128.96 and a 200-day moving average of $124.91.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $79.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.25 million. City had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 32.72%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that City Holding Company will post 8.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

City Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 15th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. City’s payout ratio is currently 38.33%.

City declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback 1,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other City news, CFO David L. Bumgarner sold 1,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.50, for a total value of $144,544.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,327,917. This trade represents a 9.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dale Legge sold 1,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total transaction of $163,625.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,000. This trade represents a 14.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,975 shares of company stock worth $1,622,853. Insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHCO. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of City by 136.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 123,803 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,335,000 after acquiring an additional 71,436 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of City by 63.2% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 77,039 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,543,000 after purchasing an additional 29,828 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in City by 11.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 212,093 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,272,000 after purchasing an additional 22,536 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in City by 55.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 61,686 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,373,000 after purchasing an additional 21,898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in City during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,216,000. 72.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

City Company Profile

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) is a bank holding company headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, City National Bank, the company offers a full range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Its operations emphasize community-oriented banking, combining local decision-making with access to digital banking platforms.

The company’s product portfolio includes deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as consumer and commercial lending solutions ranging from personal loans and mortgages to commercial real estate and equipment financing.