Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Shares Cross Above Fifty Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) crossed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.41 and traded as high as $37.17. Towne Bank shares last traded at $37.12, with a volume of 852,441 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut Towne Bank from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Towne Bank Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.66.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.09. Towne Bank had a net margin of 28.12% and a return on equity of 10.01%. The business had revenue of $255.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.66 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Towne Bank will post 3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 25th. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.50%.

Institutional Trading of Towne Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Towne Bank by 1.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,399,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $148,114,000 after buying an additional 59,267 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Towne Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,116,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Towne Bank by 86.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,314,373 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,255,000 after acquiring an additional 607,768 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Towne Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $19,429,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Towne Bank by 32.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 511,823 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,233,000 after acquiring an additional 125,670 shares during the period. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Towne Bank Company Profile

TowneBank is a financial services company headquartered in coastal Virginia. Founded in 1999, the company operates as a community-focused banking organization serving individuals, families and businesses in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Through its banking operations, TowneBank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgages, cash-management services, online and mobile banking, and other traditional financial products. Its business banking services support companies with commercial real estate financing, business loans, treasury management and related banking needs.

Beyond traditional banking, TowneBank provides services through affiliated businesses in areas that include mortgage lending, insurance, wealth management, real estate brokerage and property management.