Short Interest in City Holding (NASDAQ:CHCO) Expands By 5.7%

City Holding (NASDAQ:CHCO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 956,600 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the November 30th total of 905,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 53,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 17.9 days. Approximately 6.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on CHCO. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of City in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of City from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

City Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ CHCO traded up $2.18 on Thursday, reaching $120.66. 2,640 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 57,276. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. City has a 12 month low of $97.50 and a 12 month high of $137.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $126.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.59. The company has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.49.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $98.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.90 million. City had a net margin of 31.18% and a return on equity of 16.60%. As a group, research analysts forecast that City will post 7.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

City Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. City’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.56%.

Insider Transactions at City

In related news, EVP John A. Derito sold 1,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.93, for a total transaction of $170,203.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,937,696.01. This trade represents a 4.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Charles R. Hageboeck sold 6,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.03, for a total transaction of $788,631.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 44,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,847,969.22. The trade was a 11.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,092 shares of company stock valued at $1,196,697 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHCO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of City by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,362 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of City by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 355,940 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of City by 125.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,845 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,385,000 after purchasing an additional 16,044 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of City by 6.8% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 21,610 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in City by 66.6% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,017 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,937,000 after buying an additional 9,999 shares during the last quarter. 72.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

City Company Profile

City Holding Company operates as a holding company for City National Bank of West Virginia that provides various banking, trust, and investment management, and other financial solutions in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts.