Short Interest in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Rises By 33.5%
by Amy Steele · The Cerbat GemTowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 888,800 shares, a growth of 33.5% from the February 13th total of 665,900 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 230,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of TowneBank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 258.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 807.8% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.99% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Separately, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of TowneBank in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.
Get Our Latest Report on TowneBank
TowneBank Stock Performance
Shares of TOWN opened at $34.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 0.88. TowneBank has a one year low of $25.70 and a one year high of $38.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.79.
TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 15.77%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
TowneBank Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. TowneBank’s payout ratio is 46.51%.
TowneBank Company Profile
TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.
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