Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Civista Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CIVB – Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 158,700 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the April 15th total of 146,300 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 32,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Civista Bancshares

In related news, Director Gerald B. Wurm acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.80 per share, for a total transaction of $35,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 41,573 shares in the company, valued at $739,999.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Civista Bancshares news, Director Julie A. Mattlin bought 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.82 per share, with a total value of $28,366.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,931.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gerald B. Wurm bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.80 per share, for a total transaction of $35,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 41,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,999.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 7,800 shares of company stock worth $132,861. Company insiders own 2.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Civista Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Civista Bancshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in Civista Bancshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Civista Bancshares by 172.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Civista Bancshares by 74.1% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Civista Bancshares by 244.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the last quarter. 49.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Civista Bancshares Price Performance

CIVB stock opened at $14.95 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $16.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.44. Civista Bancshares has a 52-week low of $14.02 and a 52-week high of $24.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Civista Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 9th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Civista Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 8th. Civista Bancshares’s payout ratio is presently 21.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CIVB. StockNews.com cut Civista Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 11th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Civista Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Civista Bancshares from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Civista Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Civista Bancshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.83.

About Civista Bancshares

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Civista Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company engaged in the community banking business. It offers financial services through its offices in the Ohio counties of Erie, Crawford, Champaign, Franklin, Logan, Summit, Huron, Ottawa, Madison, Union and Richland. The firm’s primary deposit products are checking, savings, and term certificate accounts, and its lending products are residential mortgage, commercial and installment loans.