TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) Short Interest Update

TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK) experienced a notable increase in short interest throughout December. By December 15th, the total short interest reached 283,600 shares, reflecting a 23.3% rise from the 230,100 shares reported on November 30th. Given the average daily trading volume of 113,800 shares, this translates to a short-interest ratio of 2.5 days.

TriCo Bancshares Stock Performance

On December 15th, TCBK shares declined by 1.2%, closing at $44.03. The trading volume for the day totaled 171,601 shares, surpassing its typical volume of 118,275 shares. The company's market capitalization stands at $1.45 billion, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a relatively low beta of 0.56. Over the past year, TriCo Bancshares has seen a low of $31.73 and a high of $51.06. Its financial ratios include a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.86, and a quick ratio of 0.86. The current prices of the 50-day and 200-day moving averages are $46.39 and $43.70, respectively.

Recent Earnings Report

TriCo Bancshares last reported its quarterly earnings on October 24th, where it announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.88, exceeding the anticipated $0.82 by $0.06. The company's revenue for the quarter totaled $133.84 million, surpassing analysts' expectations of $98.65 million. The firm has demonstrated a net margin of 21.12% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Analysts project that TriCo Bancshares will achieve an EPS of 3.38 for the current year.

Dividend Announcement

Recently, the company declared a quarterly dividend, which was distributed on December 20th. Stockholders recorded as of December 6th received a dividend payment of $0.33, amounting to an annualized dividend of $1.32 and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was also December 6th, with a current payout ratio of 39.29%.

Insider Transactions

In other developments, Director Cory W. Giese sold 5,100 shares of TriCo Bancshares on December 11th, in a transaction valued at approximately $252,297, based on an average sale price of $49.47. After the sale, Giese's holdings in the company reduced to 6,128 shares, valued at around $303,152.16. This transaction was documented in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, with insiders owning around 4.64% of the stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

Several hedge funds have recently modified their stakes in TCBK. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. set up a new position in TriCo Bancshares valued at about $28,000 in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd invested $114,000, while Quantbot Technologies LP and Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. also added new stakes valued at $129,000 and $210,000, respectively. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased their position in the company worth $259,000. Currently, institutional investors hold approximately 59.11% of the company's shares.

Analyst Expectations

In evaluating TriCo Bancshares, various brokerages have provided new ratings. On November 12th, DA Davidson adjusted its rating from TriCo, Bancshares, TCBK