Short Interest in Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) Decreases By 14.8%

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) was the target of a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 237,649 shares, a decline of 14.8% from the January 15th total of 278,907 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 104,123 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 104,123 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CIVB shares. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on Civista Bancshares from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Civista Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Civista Bancshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Civista Bancshares from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Civista Bancshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Civista Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of CIVB opened at $24.15 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Civista Bancshares has a twelve month low of $17.47 and a twelve month high of $25.59. The company has a market cap of $466.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.70.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $46.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.43 million. Civista Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.14% and a net margin of 18.12%. As a group, analysts predict that Civista Bancshares will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Civista Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 10th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Civista Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 10th. Civista Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Civista Bancshares

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Civista Bancshares by 306.6% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,346 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in Civista Bancshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Civista Bancshares by 628.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 3,226 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,783 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 23.8% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 111.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.