Short Interest in TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) Rises By 27.8%

TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 429,300 shares, an increase of 27.8% from the December 31st total of 336,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 116,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cory W. Giese sold 5,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.47, for a total transaction of $252,297.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,152.16. This represents a 45.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TriCo Bancshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in TriCo Bancshares by 839.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 130,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,577,000 after acquiring an additional 116,838 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of TriCo Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth $1,818,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of TriCo Bancshares by 127.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 57,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,468,000 after buying an additional 32,379 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in TriCo Bancshares by 6.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 446,455 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,041,000 after buying an additional 25,817 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in TriCo Bancshares during the third quarter worth about $699,000. 59.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TriCo Bancshares Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of TriCo Bancshares stock traded up $0.63 on Wednesday, hitting $44.81. 84,752 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 94,319. The company has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. TriCo Bancshares has a one year low of $31.73 and a one year high of $51.06.

TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.09. TriCo Bancshares had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TriCo Bancshares will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

TriCo Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. TriCo Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on TCBK shares. Stephens reduced their price target on TriCo Bancshares from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. DA Davidson lowered TriCo Bancshares from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on TriCo Bancshares from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on TriCo Bancshares from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.75.

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.