TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on TriCo Bancshares from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on TriCo Bancshares from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on TriCo Bancshares from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.00.

TriCo Bancshares Stock Performance

TCBK stock opened at $34.24 on Monday. TriCo Bancshares has a 12-month low of $28.66 and a 12-month high of $45.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.53.

TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.07). TriCo Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.64% and a net margin of 23.49%. The company had revenue of $131.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.30 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that TriCo Bancshares will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

TriCo Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.33 dividend. This is a positive change from TriCo Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. TriCo Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TriCo Bancshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in TriCo Bancshares by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 151,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,851,000 after acquiring an additional 35,159 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 282,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,059,000 after purchasing an additional 77,221 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of TriCo Bancshares during the 3rd quarter worth about $281,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 117,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,070,000 after purchasing an additional 16,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 328,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,513,000 after purchasing an additional 15,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.11% of the company’s stock.

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.