Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBT) Short Interest Up 51.8% in March

Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 81,413 shares, an increase of 51.8% from the February 26th total of 53,639 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 45,052 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Institutional Trading of Orange County Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in Orange County Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,292,000. Fourthstone LLC acquired a new position in Orange County Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,210,000. Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Orange County Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Orange County Bancorp in the second quarter worth $5,121,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Orange County Bancorp by 201.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 44,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 29,721 shares during the period. 42.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OBT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Orange County Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Hovde Group boosted their price target on Orange County Bancorp from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target (up from $32.00) on shares of Orange County Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Orange County Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Orange County Bancorp Trading Down 0.9%

OBT stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $31.85. The company had a trading volume of 36,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,343. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.62. Orange County Bancorp has a 12 month low of $20.97 and a 12 month high of $37.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $425.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.42.

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $33.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.40 million. Orange County Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 26.32%. As a group, analysts predict that Orange County Bancorp will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Orange County Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 4th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Orange County Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.69%.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: OBT) is the bank holding company for Orange County Trust Bank, a community banking franchise headquartered in Goshen, New York. The company provides a full suite of financial services to individuals, small businesses and local organizations across Orange County and the surrounding Hudson Valley region.

Orange County Bancorp offers depository products that include checking and savings accounts, money market funds and certificates of deposit. On the lending side, the company extends commercial real estate and business loans, residential mortgage loans, consumer installment loans and home equity financing.