City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The bank reported $2.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.07, Zacks reports. City had a net margin of 32.58% and a return on equity of 16.34%.

City Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CHCO opened at $142.01 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 0.49. City has a one year low of $113.21 and a one year high of $148.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

City Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 15th. This is a positive change from City’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. City’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on CHCO. Weiss Ratings upgraded City from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of City from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of City from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at City

In other news, CEO Charles Hageboeck sold 4,485 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.96, for a total value of $650,145.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 43,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,377,950.08. This represents a 9.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sharon H. Rowe sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.96, for a total transaction of $57,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,522,520.96. This represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 480 shares of company stock worth $68,222 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

About City

City Holding Company (NASDAQ: CHCO) is a bank holding company headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia. Through its principal subsidiary, City National Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions.

City National Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, credit cards, cash-management services, investment products and trust services. Its activities also include wealth management and related financial services designed for retail, business and institutional customers.

The company serves communities primarily in West Virginia, Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio through a network of branches and other delivery channels.