Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAN) Short Interest Up 39.4% in August

Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 70,400 shares, an increase of 39.4% from the July 31st total of 50,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 55,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Colony Bankcorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CBAN. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Colony Bankcorp by 47.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 11,746 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colony Bankcorp by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 44,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 13,701 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Colony Bankcorp during the 4th quarter worth $684,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Colony Bankcorp by 725.7% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 7,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 6,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in Colony Bankcorp by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 27,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 6,586 shares during the period. 50.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Colony Bankcorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Colony Bankcorp Trading Up 0.5 %

Colony Bankcorp stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $15.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 20,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,506. The stock's fifty day moving average is $13.58 and its 200 day moving average is $12.08. Colony Bankcorp has a 1-year low of $9.35 and a 1-year high of $15.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $42.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.97 million. Colony Bankcorp had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 9.22%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Colony Bankcorp will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Colony Bankcorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.112 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Colony Bankcorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.00%.

About Colony Bankcorp

Colony Bankcorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Colony Bank that provides various banking products and services to commercial and consumer customers. The company offers deposit products, including demand, savings, and time deposits. It also provides loans to small and medium-sized businesses; residential and commercial construction, and land development loans; commercial real estate loans; commercial loans; agri-business and production loans; residential mortgage loans; home equity loans; and consumer loans.

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