Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) Stock Rating Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Orange County Bancorp from “hold” to “strong buy,” joining other positive analyst views. The stock has an overall “Strong Buy” consensus rating and a $43.25 average price target.
• Orange County Bancorp shares opened at $37.25, with a market capitalization of approximately $499.5 million and a 52-week range of $23.25 to $40.10.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.02 EPS versus the $0.80 consensus, although revenue of $27.82 million came in below the $33.00 million estimate. Institutional ownership stands at 42.55%, boosted by new stakes from BlackRock and other investors.

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on OBT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Orange County Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Orange County Bancorp from $40.00 to $42.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $44.00 price objective on Orange County Bancorp and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Strong Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.25.

Orange County Bancorp Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ OBT opened at $37.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $499.52 million, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $38.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.93. Orange County Bancorp has a 52-week low of $23.25 and a 52-week high of $40.10.

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $27.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $33.00 million. Orange County Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.44% and a net margin of 30.80%. Analysts expect that Orange County Bancorp will post 3.53 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Orange County Bancorp news, EVP Gregory Sousa sold 1,882 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $72,927.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,572 shares in the company, valued at $409,665. This trade represents a 15.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Stephen Rooney sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.71, for a total transaction of $58,065.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 8,606 shares in the company, valued at $333,138.26. This represents a 14.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,547 shares of company stock valued at $176,136. Corporate insiders own 8.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Orange County Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,094,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Orange County Bancorp during the second quarter worth $11,311,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 29.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 126,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,060,000 after purchasing an additional 29,205 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Orange County Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $2,125,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Orange County Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $2,026,000. 42.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Middletown, New York. Its principal subsidiary, Orange Bank & Trust Company, provides commercial and community banking services to businesses, professionals, municipalities and individuals.

Orange Bank & Trust offers deposit accounts, commercial and residential real estate lending, business loans, lines of credit, consumer loans and treasury management services. The bank also provides wealth management and investment advisory services through its affiliated Hudson Valley Investment Advisors, Inc

Founded in 1892, Orange Bank & Trust serves customers across New York's Hudson Valley, including Orange, Rockland, Westchester, Dutchess and Ulster counties, as well as surrounding areas.

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