Towne Bank’s (TOWN) Buy (B-) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings reissued their buy (b-) rating on shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) in a report released on Friday morning,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on TOWN. Wall Street Zen downgraded Towne Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 18th. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Towne Bank from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Towne Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Towne Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ TOWN opened at $33.70 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 0.84. Towne Bank has a 52-week low of $29.43 and a 52-week high of $38.28.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. Towne Bank had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 15.69%.The firm had revenue of $215.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $222.28 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Towne Bank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 29th. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Towne Bank

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TOWN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 931.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 753 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Towne Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Towne Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Towne Bank in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Towne Bank by 44.1% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. 55.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Towne Bank 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.