City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 50,723 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the previous session’s volume of 83,698 shares.The stock last traded at $122.4110 and had previously closed at $122.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CHCO. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of City in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of City from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded City from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, City currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.25.

City Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $121.34 and its 200 day moving average is $122.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $2.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $61.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.17 million. City had a net margin of 32.33% and a return on equity of 16.66%. Analysts anticipate that City Holding Company will post 7.58 earnings per share for the current year.

City Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from City’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. City’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

Insider Activity at City

In related news, CEO Charles R. Hageboeck sold 2,017 shares of City stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.68, for a total transaction of $243,411.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 50,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,077,324.12. This trade represents a 3.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders purchased 416 shares of company stock worth $48,768 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On City

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHCO. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of City by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 282 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in City by 3.2% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 3,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in City by 28.4% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in City by 0.9% during the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 12,822 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,570,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of City by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,905 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 72.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About City

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.