LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday.

Separately, Hovde Group started coverage on LCNB in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.25 target price for the company.

LCNB Stock Performance

Shares of LCNB stock opened at $15.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $217.01 million, a PE ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 0.78. LCNB has a 52 week low of $12.42 and a 52 week high of $17.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

LCNB (NASDAQ:LCNB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.14. LCNB had a return on equity of 7.12% and a net margin of 10.76%. Equities analysts anticipate that LCNB will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LCNB Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. LCNB’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LCNB

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of LCNB in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of LCNB by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,826 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 2,814 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in LCNB by 117.3% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 25,413 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 13,716 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in LCNB by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 153,579 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in LCNB by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 27,855 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 12,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 34.73% of the company’s stock.

About LCNB

LCNB Corp. operates as the financial holding company for LCNB National Bank that provides banking services in Ohio. Its deposit products include checking accounts, demand deposits, savings accounts, NOW and money market deposits, as well as individual retirement accounts and time certificates. The company's loan products comprise commercial and industrial, commercial and residential real estate, agricultural, construction, and small business administration loans; and residential mortgage loans that consists of loans for purchasing or refinancing personal residences, home equity lines of credit, and loans for commercial or consumer purposes secured by residential mortgages.