TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 726,600 shares, a decrease of 16.8% from the August 31st total of 872,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 293,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

TowneBank Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $32.93 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.08 and a 200 day moving average of $29.29. TowneBank has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $35.10.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $174.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.20 million. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.33% and a return on equity of 7.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.15 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TowneBank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in TowneBank by 43,600.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,311 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank during the second quarter valued at about $62,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in TowneBank in the second quarter worth about $73,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in TowneBank by 2,973.3% in the first quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 3,565 shares of the bank’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 3,449 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management boosted its position in TowneBank by 230.4% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 5,703 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TOWN has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded TowneBank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on TowneBank from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

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.