Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Towne Bank shares reached a new 52-week high of $37.90, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $39.50.
• The bank’s latest quarterly results were mixed: earnings of $0.78 per share missed estimates by $0.01, while revenue of $245.72 million slightly exceeded expectations.
• Towne Bank increased its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.12 and an approximate 3.0% yield; institutional investors own nearly 56% of the stock.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $37.90 and last traded at $37.7530, with a volume of 745770 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TOWN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $38.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Towne Bank in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Towne Bank from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Hovde Group decreased 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 report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Towne Bank from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.50.

Towne Bank Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.02.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.01). Towne Bank had a net margin of 25.64% and a return on equity of 9.99%. The company had revenue of $245.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.33 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Towne Bank will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $0.28 dividend. 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 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. Towne Bank's dividend payout ratio is 31.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TOWN. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new position in shares of Towne Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,116,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Towne Bank by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,314,373 shares of the bank's stock valued at $44,255,000 after purchasing an additional 607,768 shares during the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Towne Bank during the fourth quarter worth $14,820,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Towne Bank by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,082,514 shares of the bank's stock worth $269,713,000 after purchasing an additional 443,345 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 569,906 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,018,000 after purchasing an additional 147,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company's stock.

About Towne Bank

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.

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