Colony Bankcorp (NYSE:CBAN) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Colony Bankcorp from “hold” to “buy.” The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from four analysts, with an average price target of $23.00.
• Colony Bankcorp reported quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share, exceeding the $0.52 consensus estimate, while revenue of $42.72 million also surpassed expectations.
• Institutional investors own 50.37% of the company, with BlackRock and other funds establishing or increasing positions; insiders have purchased 5,000 shares over the past 90 days.

Colony Bankcorp (NYSE:CBAN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Colony Bankcorp from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Colony Bankcorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment 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, Colony Bankcorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.00.

Colony Bankcorp Stock Performance

NYSE CBAN opened at $20.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.56. Colony Bankcorp has a 1 year low of $15.80 and a 1 year high of $22.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $20.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Colony Bankcorp (NYSE:CBAN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Colony Bankcorp had a net margin of 16.71% and a return on equity of 10.73%. The company had revenue of $42.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.20 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Colony Bankcorp will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Colony Bankcorp

In related news, insider Edward Canup purchased 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.62 per share, for a total transaction of $43,240.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 39,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $858,357.24. This trade represents a 5.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 5,000 shares of company stock worth $107,690. 3.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colony Bankcorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CBAN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Colony Bankcorp in the second quarter worth about $46,935,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Colony Bankcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,025,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Colony Bankcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,783,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colony Bankcorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,569,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Colony Bankcorp by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 227,476 shares of the company's stock worth $4,570,000 after buying an additional 70,216 shares during the period. 50.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Colony Bankcorp

Colony Bankcorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Fitzgerald, Georgia. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Colony Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions. Colony Bank has roots dating to 1935 and operates as a community-focused financial institution serving markets across Georgia and neighboring areas.

The bank offers a range of personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage lending, treasury management and other banking services.

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