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

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

Colony Bankcorp Stock Up 1.2 %

CBAN stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.09. 22,126 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,142. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.31. Colony Bankcorp has a 1-year low of $9.61 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $264.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 0.57.

Colony Bankcorp (NASDAQ:CBAN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. Colony Bankcorp had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The company had revenue of $44.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Colony Bankcorp will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Colony Bankcorp Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Colony Bankcorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Colony Bankcorp by 47.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 11,746 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 13,701 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Colony Bankcorp by 8.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 508,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,228,000 after purchasing an additional 38,457 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Colony Bankcorp by 15.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 58,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 7,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Colony Bankcorp by 7.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 31,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.37% of the company’s stock.

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.