Short Interest in TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) Drops By 22.9%

TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 345,700 shares, a decrease of 22.9% from the March 31st total of 448,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 124,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TriCo Bancshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of TriCo Bancshares during the first quarter worth approximately $2,141,000. RMB Capital Management LLC grew its position in TriCo Bancshares by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC now owns 317,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,643,000 after buying an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in TriCo Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,000,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in TriCo Bancshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $429,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in TriCo Bancshares by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,526,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,612,000 after buying an additional 86,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on TCBK shares. Raymond James upped their target price on TriCo Bancshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on TriCo Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on TriCo Bancshares from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered TriCo Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TriCo Bancshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

TriCo Bancshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TCBK traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $33.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 120,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,970. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. TriCo Bancshares has a one year low of $28.66 and a one year high of $45.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.11.

TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $131.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.30 million. TriCo Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.87% and a net margin of 21.25%. Research analysts predict that TriCo Bancshares will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

TriCo Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is a positive change from TriCo Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. TriCo Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.24%.

About TriCo Bancshares

TriCo Bancshares operates as a bank holding company for Tri Counties Bank that provides commercial banking services to individual and corporate customers. The company accepts demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides small business loans; real estate mortgage loans, such as residential and commercial loans; consumer loans; mortgage, auto, other vehicle, and personal loans; commercial loans, including agricultural loans; and real estate construction loans.