Short Interest in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Increases By 40.9%

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 874,100 shares, a growth of 40.9% from the December 15th total of 620,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 252,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

TowneBank Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of TOWN traded down $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $34.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 112,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,880. TowneBank has a twelve month low of $25.70 and a twelve month high of $38.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.21 and a 200-day moving average of $33.44.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $258.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.80 million. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.32% and a net margin of 14.89%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. TowneBank’s payout ratio is 50.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of TowneBank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Institutional Trading of TowneBank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in TowneBank in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of TowneBank in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of TowneBank in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,000. KBC Group NV purchased a new stake in shares of TowneBank during the third quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in TowneBank by 137.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the bank’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 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.