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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orange County Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Orange County Bancorp by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 53,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after buying an additional 20,118 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Orange County Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $645,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 129.0% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 10,761 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Orange County Bancorp by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 9,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Orange County Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $379,000. 42.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Orange County Bancorp Stock Down 1.1 %

OBT opened at $23.65 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $268.64 million, a P/E ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 0.42. Orange County Bancorp has a 12 month low of $21.00 and a 12 month 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 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 predict that Orange County Bancorp will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Orange County Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is an increase from Orange County Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Orange County Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 21.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Orange County Bancorp Company Profile

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.