Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBT) Short Interest Up 24.5% in March

Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:OBT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 112,300 shares, an increase of 24.5% from the February 28th total of 90,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 23,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.8 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Orange County Bancorp by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,966 shares of the company's stock worth $4,522,000 after acquiring an additional 4,060 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Orange County Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $379,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 183.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,934 shares of the company's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 5,132 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Orange County Bancorp by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 111,414 shares of the company's stock worth $6,722,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Orange County Bancorp by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.55% of the company's stock.

Orange County Bancorp Price Performance

OBT stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.46. The company had a trading volume of 14,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,134. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $25.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.25. The company has a market capitalization of $255.12 million, a P/E ratio of 9.09 and a beta of 0.46. Orange County Bancorp has a 1 year low of $21.00 and a 1 year high of $33.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.05). Orange County Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.51% and a net margin of 19.47%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Orange County Bancorp will post 2.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orange County Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from Orange County Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Orange County Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Orange County Bancorp from $33.00 to $35.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking products and services, and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments, and individuals. It accepts various deposits, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.