Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) Short Interest Update

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 124,800 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the July 31st total of 118,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 47,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Civista Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ CIVB opened at $16.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average is $16.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.26. Civista Bancshares has a 52-week low of $13.60 and a 52-week high of $19.00.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The bank reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $61.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.57 million. Civista Bancshares had a net margin of 14.48% and a return on equity of 9.24%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Civista Bancshares will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Civista Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 6th. Civista Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Civista Bancshares news, Director Julie A. Mattlin purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.60 per share, for a total transaction of $31,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,095.20. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.01% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Civista Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CIVB. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Civista Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at about $63,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Civista Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $109,000. Gendell Jeffrey L bought a new position in Civista Bancshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $184,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Civista Bancshares during the 2nd quarter valued at about $189,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Civista Bancshares by 10,347.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 12,746 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 12,624 shares during the last quarter. 52.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CIVB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Civista Bancshares in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Civista Bancshares from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Civista Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.25.

Civista Bancshares Company Profile

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.