TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

TOWN has been the topic of several other reports. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $41.00 target price on shares of TowneBank in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Price Performance

TOWN stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Thursday, hitting $34.58. The stock had a trading volume of 43,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,087. TowneBank has a twelve month low of $25.70 and a twelve month high of $38.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average price is $33.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.66.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 50,437 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 14,386 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in TowneBank by 6.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 143,340 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,901,000 after acquiring an additional 9,159 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in TowneBank by 1,220.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 157,411 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,382,000 after acquiring an additional 145,494 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in TowneBank by 4.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,392,000 after acquiring an additional 7,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in TowneBank by 56.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 381,761 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,052,000 after purchasing an additional 137,988 shares during the period. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TowneBank Company Profile

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.