City Holding Company (CHCO) – What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $140.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on CHCO. Weiss Ratings downgraded City from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on City in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on City from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on City from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

City Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CHCO opened at $143.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day moving average is $142.17 and its 200 day moving average is $132.12. City has a 52 week low of $113.21 and a 52 week high of $148.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The bank reported $2.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.07. City had a net margin of 32.31% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The business had revenue of $84.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $83.07 million. Research analysts anticipate that City will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

City Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from City’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. City’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.67%.

Insider Transactions at City

In other City news, EVP Jeffrey Legge sold 512 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total transaction of $74,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,656 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,416.80. The trade was a 6.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sharon H. Rowe sold 400 shares of City stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.96, for a total value of $57,584.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,522,520.96. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 480 shares of company stock worth $68,222. Corporate insiders own 1.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of City during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $270,231,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in City by 1.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 470,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,992 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of City in the second quarter valued at $15,012,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of City by 3,506.4% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 72,597 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,100,000 after acquiring an additional 70,584 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of City by 2.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 70,262 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the period. 72.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About City

City Holding Company (NASDAQ: CHCO) is a financial holding company headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia. Its principal subsidiary, City National Bank of West Virginia, provides banking and related financial services to individuals, businesses and organizations.

The bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage services, and online and mobile banking. It also provides wealth management, trust and investment services, and insurance through its affiliated businesses.

City National Bank was established in Charleston in 1957.