Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on TOWN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Towne Bank in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Hovde Group lowered their target price on shares of Towne Bank from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Towne Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.50.

Towne Bank Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ TOWN opened at $36.24 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $34.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.79. Towne Bank has a 52-week low of $31.91 and a 52-week high of $37.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30 and a beta of 0.70.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.74. Towne Bank had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 13.51%.The company had revenue of $247.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.02 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Towne Bank will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Towne Bank’s payout ratio is presently 56.57%.

Institutional Trading of Towne Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Towne Bank by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 8,538 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Towne Bank by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,837 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Towne Bank by 56.6% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 381,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,052,000 after acquiring an additional 137,988 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,392,000 after purchasing an additional 7,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 1,220.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 157,411 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,382,000 after purchasing an additional 145,494 shares in the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.