Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBAN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 94,400 shares, a growth of 25.2% from the September 30th total of 75,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 46,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Colony Bankcorp Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CBAN stock traded up $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $15.09. 22,126 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,142. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.31. Colony Bankcorp has a twelve month low of $9.61 and a twelve month high of $16.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $264.97 million, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.57.

Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Colony Bankcorp had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 13.03%. The business had revenue of $44.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Colony Bankcorp will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Colony Bankcorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.112 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Colony Bankcorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colony Bankcorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CBAN. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Colony Bankcorp during the first quarter worth about $123,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Colony Bankcorp in the second quarter valued at $139,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Colony Bankcorp by 8.9% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 26,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Colony Bankcorp by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Colony Bankcorp by 47.9% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 11,746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colony Bankcorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th.

Colony Bankcorp Company Profile

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.