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

Key Points

• Short interest fell 23.0% in April to 71,132 shares, equal to 0.6% of the company's stock and a 0.6‑day short‑interest ratio.
• Orange County Bancorp beat EPS estimates with $0.85 vs. $0.78 while revenue slightly missed, and the stock traded down 5.2% to $34.40 on the report.
• Analysts carry an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $37 price target, and institutional investors own 42.55% of the shares, led by Fourthstone LLC which boosted its stake 169.9% to 192,846 shares.

Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 71,132 shares, a decline of 23.0% from the March 31st total of 92,346 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 120,795 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Orange County Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Azora Capital LP raised its holdings in Orange County Bancorp by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 53,679 shares of the company's stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,679 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 2,196 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 52,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 2,721 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 54,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period. Finally, Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in Orange County Bancorp by 169.9% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 192,846 shares of the company's stock worth $5,506,000 after buying an additional 121,402 shares during the last quarter. 42.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on OBT. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Orange County Bancorp in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Orange County Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Hovde Group lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Orange County Bancorp from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Orange County Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.00.

Orange County Bancorp Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of Orange County Bancorp stock traded down $1.87 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.40. 37,577 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,742. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $33.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.06. The stock has a market cap of $461.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36 and a beta of 0.43. Orange County Bancorp has a 12-month low of $22.81 and a 12-month high of $37.99.

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $32.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $32.35 million. Orange County Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 26.32%.

Orange County Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 4th. Orange County Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.69%.

Orange County Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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