TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Short Interest Up 40.9% in December

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during 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. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 252,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TowneBank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in TowneBank by 16.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 361,960 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,966,000 after buying an additional 50,149 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685,643 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,738,000 after acquiring an additional 18,929 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in TowneBank in the 3rd quarter valued at $516,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in TowneBank by 224.3% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 47,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 33,195 shares during the period. Finally, Arbor Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in TowneBank during the 3rd quarter worth about $577,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TowneBank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TOWN traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $34.14. The stock had a trading volume of 182,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,926. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.26 and its 200-day moving average is $33.44. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16 and a beta of 0.93. TowneBank has a one year low of $25.70 and a one year high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $258.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.80 million. TowneBank had a net margin of 14.89% and a return on equity of 7.32%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.