Short Interest in Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTBI) Rises By 44.2%

Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTBI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 113,800 shares, an increase of 44.2% from the September 30th total of 78,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 45,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of Community Trust Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th.

Community Trust Bancorp Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ CTBI traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $52.21. 36,609 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 48,785. The stock has a market cap of $942.39 million, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.91. Community Trust Bancorp has a 1-year low of $36.92 and a 1-year high of $53.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Community Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:CTBI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.08. Community Trust Bancorp had a net margin of 21.64% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $95.38 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.00 million. On average, analysts expect that Community Trust Bancorp will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Community Trust Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Community Trust Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.73%.

Institutional Trading of Community Trust Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTBI. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in Community Trust Bancorp by 216.9% in the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 161,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,897,000 after acquiring an additional 110,681 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Community Trust Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $2,891,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Community Trust Bancorp by 37.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 188,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,239,000 after acquiring an additional 51,765 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 20.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 274,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,996,000 after purchasing an additional 46,745 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Community Trust Bancorp by 9.0% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 290,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,375,000 after purchasing an additional 23,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.20% of the company's stock.

About Community Trust Bancorp

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.

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