Short Interest in Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Declines By 7.8%

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 796,500 shares, a decline of 7.8% from the August 31st total of 864,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 269,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in Independent Bank by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 21,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Independent Bank by 2.7% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,704 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Aries Wealth Management lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 1.5% in the second quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 16,122 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 25,325 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plimoth Trust Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 8,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB opened at $59.13 on Tuesday. Independent Bank has a 1 year low of $44.63 and a 1 year high of $68.75. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 22.42%. The business had revenue of $244.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on INDB. StockNews.com lowered Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit.