Short Interest in Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTBI) Drops By 13.6%

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTBI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 115,000 shares, a drop of 13.6% from the March 15th total of 133,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 48,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Community Trust Bancorp Stock Performance

CTBI traded down $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $39.49. 30,004 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,110. Community Trust Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.68 and a fifty-two week high of $45.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.24. The company has a market capitalization of $711.61 million, a P/E ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.68.

Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.04). Community Trust Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 23.91%. The business had revenue of $57.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.00 million. As a group, analysts predict that Community Trust Bancorp will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Community Trust Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Community Trust Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Community Trust Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 42.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott assumed coverage on shares of Community Trust Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Community Trust Bancorp in a research report on Friday, February 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark A. Gooch purchased 856 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $41.68 per share, for a total transaction of $35,678.08. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 27,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,133,320.88. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Community Trust Bancorp news, CEO Mark A. Gooch acquired 856 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.68 per share, with a total value of $35,678.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 27,191 shares in the company, valued at $1,133,320.88. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Franky Minnifield acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.28 per share, for a total transaction of $78,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,401 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,671.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 5,117 shares of company stock worth $207,283. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Trust Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its stake in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 2,050,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,244,000 after purchasing an additional 19,354 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 0.3% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,466,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,479,000 after buying an additional 5,005 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,158,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,824,000 after buying an additional 9,507 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 883,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,750,000 after buying an additional 14,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 2.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 521,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,781,000 after buying an additional 10,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.20% of the company’s stock.

Community Trust Bancorp Company Profile

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Community Trust Bank, Inc that engages in the provision of commercial and personal banking, and trust and wealth management services to small and mid-sized communities in eastern, northeastern, central, and south-central Kentucky, as well as southern West Virginia, and northeastern Tennessee.