TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $35.82 and last traded at $35.65, with a volume of 38454 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TOWN has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of TowneBank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TowneBank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

TowneBank Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.58.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. TowneBank had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm had revenue of $258.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that TowneBank will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TowneBank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in TowneBank by 94.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 47,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 23,184 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in TowneBank by 92.5% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 181,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after buying an additional 87,332 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in TowneBank by 2,100.3% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 21,519 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 20,541 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of TowneBank by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 504,926 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,769,000 after acquiring an additional 21,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $516,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.