Towne Bank to Issue Dividend of $0.70 (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Key Points

• Dividend: $0.70 per share declared, payable May 20 to holders of record on May 4 (ex-dividend May 4); Towne has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years and its current payout ratio of 31.6% suggests dividends are well covered by earnings.
• Quarterly miss: Towne reported $0.74 EPS vs. $0.91 expected and revenue of $247.6M (vs. $274M), although revenue rose 34.6% year-over-year; analysts expect roughly $3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3.75 next year.
• Shares traded down 0.6% to $35.22 with a market cap of $2.78B and a P/E of 16.01, and analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a target price of $41.00.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) declared a dividend on Thursday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a dividend of 0.70 per share by the bank on Wednesday, May 20th. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th.

Towne Bank has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Towne Bank has a payout ratio of 31.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Towne Bank to earn $3.75 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.8%.

Towne Bank Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN traded down $0.23 on Thursday, reaching $35.22. 631,521 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 504,659. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $34.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.31. 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 $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.17). Towne Bank had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $247.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $274.02 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Towne Bank will post 3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TOWN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Towne Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Towne Bank from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" 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.

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