Short Interest in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Declines By 19.1%

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 638,700 shares, a decrease of 19.1% from the January 15th total of 789,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 246,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TowneBank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of TOWN. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of TowneBank during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. bought a new position in shares of TowneBank during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of TowneBank by 258.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in TowneBank in the third quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in TowneBank by 807.8% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 1,971 shares in the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TowneBank Stock Performance

Shares of TowneBank stock opened at $36.84 on Friday. TowneBank has a 52-week low of $25.70 and a 52-week high of $38.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.09 and a 200-day moving average of $34.32.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 7.77%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.51%.

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.