City (NASDAQ:CHCO) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. Approximately 95,304 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the previous session’s volume of 106,970 shares.The stock last traded at $120.7350 and had previously closed at $119.40.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. City’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of City in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of City from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.50.

City Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

City (NASDAQ:CHCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The bank reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $60.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.38 million. City had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 32.56%. Analysts predict that City Holding Company will post 7.58 EPS for the current year.

City declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 25th that permits the company to buyback 1,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other City news, CEO Charles R. Hageboeck sold 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.33, for a total value of $159,795.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 49,084 shares in the company, valued at $6,151,697.72. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 553 shares of company stock valued at $64,082. Insiders own 1.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of City

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of City by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 15,586 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of City by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,977 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of City by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,634 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of City during the 1st quarter worth about $104,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in City by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,285 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,497,000 after buying an additional 2,603 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.43% of the company’s stock.

About City

City Holding Company (NASDAQ:CHCO) is a bank holding company headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, City National Bank, the company offers a full range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and nonprofit organizations. Its operations emphasize community-oriented banking, combining local decision-making with access to digital banking platforms.

The company’s product portfolio includes deposit accounts such as checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as consumer and commercial lending solutions ranging from personal loans and mortgages to commercial real estate and equipment financing.