City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Rating Lowered to Sell at Wall Street Zen

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of City from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of City from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of City from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.25.

City Price Performance

NASDAQ CHCO opened at $120.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48 and a beta of 0.56. City has a 52-week low of $102.22 and a 52-week high of $137.28.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $78.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.10 million. City had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 16.30%. Equities research analysts predict that City will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James M. Parsons acquired 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $122.38 per share, for a total transaction of $269,236.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $330,426. The trade was a 440.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dale Legge sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.06, for a total transaction of $327,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $922,269.22. The trade was a 26.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 2,505 shares of company stock valued at $307,986 over the last 90 days. 1.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On City

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of City by 69.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of City by 43.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of City by 781.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of City by 69.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 546 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in City during the first quarter worth $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.43% of the company’s stock.

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.