Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) Short Interest Up 15.6% in December

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 164,600 shares, a growth of 15.6% from the December 15th total of 142,400 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 59,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Civista Bancshares Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of CIVB traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $20.88. The stock had a trading volume of 54,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,654. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.95. Civista Bancshares has a 12 month low of $13.60 and a 12 month high of $23.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $328.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.82.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $62.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.60 million. Civista Bancshares had a net margin of 13.12% and a return on equity of 8.33%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Civista Bancshares will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Civista Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 5th. Civista Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.84%.

Institutional Trading of Civista Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CIVB. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Civista Bancshares in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Civista Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at about $102,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Civista Bancshares by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 13,940 shares of the bank’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 3,934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Civista Bancshares in the second quarter valued at approximately $323,000. 52.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Civista Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Civista Bancshares from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Civista Bancshares from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Civista Bancshares has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.75.

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.