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

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 117,300 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the May 31st total of 111,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 33,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Civista Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CIVB traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.80. 17,118 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,121. The company has a market cap of $232.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. Civista Bancshares has a one year low of $13.60 and a one year high of $19.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $14.44 and a 200 day moving average of $15.51.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The bank reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $58.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.01 million. Civista Bancshares had a net margin of 16.38% and a return on equity of 10.23%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Civista Bancshares will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Civista Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 6th. Civista Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is 27.47%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $18.00 target price (down from $21.00) on shares of Civista Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Hovde Group assumed coverage on Civista Bancshares in a research note on Monday, April 1st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet cut Civista Bancshares from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Civista Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CIVB. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Civista Bancshares by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Civista Bancshares by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 24,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Civista Bancshares by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 44,169 shares of the bank’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in Civista Bancshares by 24.7% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 18,535 shares of the bank’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Civista Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,000. 52.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Civista Bancshares

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.