Wall Street Zen Downgrades Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, indicating a negative outlook for the stock.
• Meanwhile, Weiss Ratings maintained a "buy" rating, reflecting mixed analyst sentiments, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.00.
• Towne Bank reported a quarterly EPS of $0.81, beating estimates and showing an 18.6% year-over-year revenue increase, highlighting positive operational performance amidst recent stock downgrades.

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

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on TOWN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Towne Bank in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Towne Bank from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.00.

Towne Bank Trading Up 3.8%

NASDAQ TOWN opened at $33.76 on Friday. Towne Bank has a one year low of $29.43 and a one year high of $38.28. The company's 50 day moving average price is $35.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 0.84.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $207.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.18 million. Towne Bank had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 8.99%. Towne Bank's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Towne Bank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Towne Bank

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Towne Bank by 32.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the bank's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Towne Bank 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 purchasing an additional 9,159 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Towne Bank by 4.4% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,656 shares of the bank's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Towne Bank by 137.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,121 shares of the bank's stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 2,960 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Towne Bank by 2,332.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,624 shares of the bank's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.99% of the company's stock.

About Towne Bank

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.