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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of City (NASDAQ:CHCO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of City from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of City from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.25.

City Stock Performance

City stock opened at $119.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. City has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $137.28. The company has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $122.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.06.

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

City Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 15th. City’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.03%.

Insider Activity at City

In other City news, EVP Michael T. Quinlan, Jr. sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.12, for a total transaction of $131,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 1,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,949.60. This trade represents a 35.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jeffrey Dale Legge sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 7,037 shares in the company, valued at $922,269.22. This trade represents a 26.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 305 shares of company stock worth $38,750 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of City

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CHCO. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in City by 69.7% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of City by 43.9% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 282 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of City by 781.3% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 423 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of City by 69.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 546 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of City in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 72.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.