Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Grows Position in Towne Bank $TOWN

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 51.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 341,471 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,013 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Towne Bank were worth $11,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 931.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 753 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Towne Bank by 150.3% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 816 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Towne Bank during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Towne Bank during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Towne Bank by 44.1% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

Towne Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $32.99 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Towne Bank has a one year low of $29.43 and a one year high of $37.86.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by ($0.01). Towne Bank had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 10.11%. The company had revenue of $221.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $225.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Towne Bank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Towne Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TOWN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered Towne Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Towne Bank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Towne Bank has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Towne Bank Company Profile

TowneBank is a Virginia‐based financial services company organized as a bank holding company. Its primary subsidiary, TowneBank, operates a network of community banking offices and mortgage production facilities. The company offers a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking solutions, including deposit accounts, lending products, treasury management, and private banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and middle‐market corporations.

In addition to traditional banking, TowneBank provides specialty services through affiliated subsidiaries.