FJ Capital Management LLC Takes Position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 290,906 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $9,908,000. TowneBank comprises 1.1% of FJ Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in TowneBank by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 17,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,354 shares of the bank’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,073 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its position in TowneBank by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 30,112 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,033,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in TowneBank by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 167,173 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,694,000 after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of TowneBank in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

TowneBank Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ TOWN opened at $33.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.54. TowneBank has a 52 week low of $25.70 and a 52 week high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $190.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. TowneBank’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.37%.

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.