LPL Financial LLC Buys 1,266 Shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,250 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in TowneBank were worth $773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TOWN. Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in TowneBank by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 162,549 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after acquiring an additional 18,528 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 0.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 487,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,995,000 after buying an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 2.8% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 29,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of TowneBank during the second quarter worth $352,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 1.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 47,696 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,271,000 after buying an additional 903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.03% of the company’s stock.

TowneBank Stock Performance

NASDAQ TOWN opened at $26.85 on Tuesday. TowneBank has a 52-week low of $21.22 and a 52-week high of $33.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.92.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The bank reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.11. TowneBank had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The business had revenue of $242.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.91 million. On average, research analysts predict that TowneBank will post 2.19 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 28th. TowneBank’s payout ratio is 43.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TOWN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of TowneBank in a research report on Friday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of TowneBank in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of TowneBank in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, TowneBank currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.75.

About TowneBank

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.