Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 178,300 shares, a drop of 10.6% from the May 31st total of 199,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 72,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler raised Independent Bank to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Christina Keller sold 2,400 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total transaction of $56,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $155,018.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP James J. Twarozynski sold 1,500 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $37,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,150. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christina Keller sold 2,400 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total value of $56,688.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,018.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $135,821. Company insiders own 5.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IBCP. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 773,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,193,000 after purchasing an additional 87,852 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 234,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after purchasing an additional 21,567 shares during the period. Ziegler Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 27,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ IBCP traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.05. The company had a trading volume of 39,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,895. Independent Bank has a one year low of $16.45 and a one year high of $27.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.94. The stock has a market cap of $544.45 million, a PE ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.01.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.11. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 20.45%. The company had revenue of $52.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.50 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.