Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBT) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBT) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 112,300 shares, an increase of 24.5% from the February 28th total of 90,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 23,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Orange County Bancorp from $33.00 to $35.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Orange County Bancorp Price Performance

OBT stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $23.91. 8,831 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,890. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.42. Orange County Bancorp has a 52 week low of $21.00 and a 52 week high of $33.06.

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.05). Orange County Bancorp had a net margin of 19.47% and a return on equity of 15.51%. As a group, research analysts expect that Orange County Bancorp will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orange County Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from Orange County Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. Orange County Bancorp’s payout ratio is 21.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Orange County Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OBT. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Orange County Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 5,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Orange County Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 77.2% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 2,686 shares during the period. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 15,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.55% of the company’s stock.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking products and services, and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments, and individuals. It accepts various deposits, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.