TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Hovde Group Analyst Says

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) had its price target boosted by Hovde Group from $38.00 to $39.00 in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the bank's stock.

Separately, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.82. The company had a trading volume of 174,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,339. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $33.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.79. TowneBank has a one year low of $25.70 and a one year high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $190.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $191.29 million. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 15.77%. TowneBank's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in TowneBank by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,914 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,758,000 after purchasing an additional 68,479 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 16.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 361,960 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,966,000 after buying an additional 50,149 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,073 shares of the bank's stock worth $684,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in TowneBank in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in TowneBank by 258.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.99% of the company's stock.

About TowneBank

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.