Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (OBT) Surges 6.8%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?

Orange County Bancorp, Inc. OBT shares ended the last trading session 6.8% higher at $38.90. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 4% loss over the past four weeks.

The performance of the banking sector is expected to improve significantly in the quarters ahead on the back of rising interest rates. A couple of days ago, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 75 basis points, following one hike in May and another in March. More such rate hikes are expected in the year to tame the raging inflation. This has led to the bullish investor sentiments, which drove Orange County Bancorp stock higher.

This company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.96 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -17.2%. Revenues are expected to be $20.08 million, up 13.7% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Orange County Bancorp, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on OBT going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Orange County Bancorp, Inc. is part of the Zacks Banks - Northeast industry. Capital Bancorp CBNK, another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 0.9% lower at $21.47. CBNK has returned -1% in the past month.

Capital Bancorp's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.70. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +2.9%. Capital Bancorp currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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