Origin Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:OBK) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 15.2% in April to 483,751 shares (about 1.6% of the stock) with a days-to-cover ratio of 2.6.
• Origin Bancorp raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 (from $0.15), an annualized $1.00 yielding ~2.1%; the ex-dividend date is May 15 and payment is May 29.
• Analyst sentiment is tilted positive: five Buys and one Hold give an average target of $48.50, with several recent price-target upgrades (Stephens to $54 among them).

Origin Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:OBK - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 483,751 shares, a drop of 15.2% from the March 31st total of 570,732 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 189,136 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Origin Bancorp Stock Performance

OBK stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $47.30. 123,013 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,028. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $42.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33 and a beta of 0.68. Origin Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.13 and a 1 year high of $48.12.

Origin Bancorp (NYSE:OBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $104.04 million for the quarter. Origin Bancorp had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 6.58%. On average, equities analysts expect that Origin Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Origin Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Origin Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Origin Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on OBK. DA Davidson set a $49.00 price target on Origin Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Origin Bancorp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Origin Bancorp from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Origin Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Origin Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OBK. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Origin Bancorp by 92.5% in the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 790,234 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,279,000 after purchasing an additional 379,716 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Origin Bancorp by 438.9% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 301,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,398,000 after purchasing an additional 245,320 shares during the period. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in Origin Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,925,000. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Origin Bancorp by 2,277.7% in the third quarter. Endeavour Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 191,496 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,610,000 after purchasing an additional 183,442 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC grew its holdings in Origin Bancorp by 139.2% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 275,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,370,000 after purchasing an additional 160,469 shares during the period. 54.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Origin Bancorp

Origin Bancorp, Inc NYSE: OBK is a bank holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia, and is the parent of Origin Bank, a full-service commercial banking franchise. The company provides a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, small and middle-market businesses, and institutional clients across the southeastern United States.

Through Origin Bank, the company offers a variety of deposit products, including checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit.

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