Yahoo Finance Civista (CIVB) Gains 2.2% on New Share Repurchase Program
Shares of Civista Bancshares, Inc. CIVB have rallied 2.2% following the announcement of a new share repurchase program. Under the program, the board of directors of this Sandusky, OH-based bank has authorized the buyback of up to an aggregate of $13.5 million of its outstanding shares. The plan will expire on May 2, 2024.
This new repurchase plan replaced the previous authorization (announced in August 2022) to buy back $13.5 million shares. The company repurchased $7.4 million worth of shares under this plan, which expired on May 9.
Dennis G. Shaffer, Civista’s president and CEO said, "We remain committed to our strategy of growing our franchise. Provided we have a level of comfort, the repurchase program will allow us to be opportunistic and further deliver value to our shareholders."
In addition to the share repurchases, the company pays regular quarterly dividends. In April, Civista announced a quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share, marking a 7.1% hike from the previous payout. The dividend will be paid out on May 24 to shareholders of record as of May 9.
Prior to this, the company had hiked its dividend in July 2021 by 17% to 14 cents per share. In fact, CIVB increased its dividend five times in the last five years. Based on the increased rate, the annual dividend comes to 60 cents per share. This results in an annualized dividend yield of 4.16%, considering CIVB’s last day’s closing price of $14.76. The yield is not only attractive for investors but also represents a steady income stream.
Civista’s solid balance sheet position and earnings strength indicate that its capital deployments seem sustainable. However, the deteriorating operating backdrop and elevated expenses are major near-term headwinds.
Shares of Civista have lost 31.3% over the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 33.1%.
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Currently, the company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Bank Stocks Worth a Look
A couple of better-ranked bank stocks are The Bancorp TBBK and Pathward Financial, Inc. CASH.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Bancorp’s earnings has been revised 6.5% upward for 2023 over the past 30 days. So far this year, TBBK’s shares have rallied 3%. Currently, the company sports a Zacks Rank #1.
Pathward Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CASH has been revised 1.8% north for 2023 over the past 30 days. Pathward Financial’s share price gained almost 1% so far this year.
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Civista Bancshares, Inc. (CIVB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
