Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CIVB. Hovde Group raised shares of Civista Bancshares from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Civista Bancshares from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Civista Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.50.

Civista Bancshares Stock Performance

Civista Bancshares stock opened at $21.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Civista Bancshares has a 1-year low of $13.60 and a 1-year high of $23.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $332.59 million, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.18 and its 200 day moving average is $19.58.

Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. Civista Bancshares had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 8.35%. Research analysts forecast that Civista Bancshares will post 2.28 EPS for the current year.

Civista Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 4th. This is a positive change from Civista Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Civista Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Civista Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Civista Bancshares by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 52,528 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 4.4% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 13,940 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,624 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 8,999 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in shares of Civista Bancshares by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 25,275 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. 52.10% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Civista Bancshares Company Profile

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.