Short Interest in Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG) Rises By 23.6%

Key Points

• Short interest rose 23.6% in March to 222,633 shares (about 1.6% of shares) and the short-interest ratio is 2.1 days, indicating increased bearish positioning.
• The company missed quarterly EPS estimates ($0.80 vs. $0.89) and analyst sentiment is mixed — MarketBeat shows a consensus Hold with a $45 price target after several downgrades.
• Capital City raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 (annualized $1.08, yield 2.5%), and institutional investors have been adding stakes (institutions now own ~44.6%, including large increases by Bank of America and Wellington).

Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 222,633 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the February 26th total of 180,106 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 107,513 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Capital City Bank Group in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Capital City Bank Group from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research downgraded Capital City Bank Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Capital One Financial set a $45.00 price objective on Capital City Bank Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Capital City Bank Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Capital City Bank Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $45.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Capital City Bank Group by 997.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 192,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,044,000 after acquiring an additional 174,953 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Capital City Bank Group by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 547,871 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,323,000 after purchasing an additional 133,923 shares in the last quarter. Teton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Capital City Bank Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,988,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Capital City Bank Group by 667.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 44,541 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 38,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Capital City Bank Group by 13.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 293,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,546,000 after buying an additional 35,603 shares during the last quarter. 44.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Capital City Bank Group Stock Performance

Shares of CCBG stock opened at $43.02 on Monday. Capital City Bank Group has a fifty-two week low of $32.38 and a fifty-two week high of $46.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.37. The company has a market cap of $737.79 million, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 0.32.

Capital City Bank Group (NASDAQ:CCBG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.09). Capital City Bank Group had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 21.47%.The business had revenue of $63.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.65 million. Research analysts forecast that Capital City Bank Group will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Capital City Bank Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Capital City Bank Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Capital City Bank Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.00%.

About Capital City Bank Group

Capital City Bank Group, Inc is a Florida‐based bank holding company headquartered in Tallahassee. As the parent of Capital City Bank, it offers a full suite of financial services through a network of community banking offices. The company traces its origins to the late 19th century, reflecting more than a century of continuous operation in its home market.

Through its banking subsidiary, Capital City Bank Group provides retail and commercial banking products, including checking and savings accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgage financing, and treasury management services.

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