Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Acquires 27,402 Shares of Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB)

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. boosted its holdings in Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) by 30.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 116,952 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,402 shares during the period. Civista Bancshares comprises approximately 2.0% of Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd.’s holdings in Civista Bancshares were worth $2,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 52,528 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Civista Bancshares by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the bank’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in Civista Bancshares by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,999 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,960 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 25,275 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Civista Bancshares by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 52,617 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,482 shares during the last quarter. 52.10% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Civista Bancshares Price Performance

CIVB stock opened at $18.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.38 and a 200 day moving average of $20.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $286.52 million, a P/E ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.79. Civista Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.60 and a 1 year high of $23.70.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.10. Civista Bancshares had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 12.96%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Civista Bancshares, Inc. will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Civista Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. This is a positive change from Civista Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Civista Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 33.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Civista Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. DA Davidson set a $27.00 target price on Civista Bancshares in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Civista Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Civista Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.40.

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.