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

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

TriCo Bancshares Price Performance

TCBK traded down $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.85. The stock had a trading volume of 120,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 93,970. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.28 and a 200-day moving average of $36.11. TriCo Bancshares has a one year low of $28.66 and a one year high of $45.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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

TriCo Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from TriCo Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. TriCo Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TCBK. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 124.6% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 470.9% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 49.6% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of TriCo Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 39.0% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares during the period. 59.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TCBK shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on TriCo Bancshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. DA Davidson reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com cut TriCo Bancshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

TriCo Bancshares Company Profile

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.