TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Upgraded to Outperform at Hovde Group

Hovde Group upgraded shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $38.00 price target on the bank’s stock, down from their previous price target of $39.00.

Separately, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Stock Performance

Shares of TOWN stock opened at $30.61 on Friday. TowneBank has a fifty-two week low of $25.70 and a fifty-two week high of $38.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.24 and a beta of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.82.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 7.77%. As a group, equities analysts predict that TowneBank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TOWN. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of TowneBank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new position in TowneBank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in TowneBank by 258.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in TowneBank during the third quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in TowneBank by 807.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.