TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Hits New 1-Year High at $35.10

Shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $35.10 and last traded at $34.89, with a volume of 119911 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TOWN. StockNews.com raised TowneBank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on TowneBank from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

TowneBank Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.53 and its 200-day moving average is $28.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87 and a beta of 0.89.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $174.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.20 million. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.33% and a return on equity of 7.56%. TowneBank’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. TowneBank’s payout ratio is currently 49.75%.

Institutional Trading of TowneBank

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in TowneBank by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 784,137 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,336,000 after buying an additional 31,755 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in TowneBank by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TowneBank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,851,000. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in TowneBank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 26.1% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 22,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 4,676 shares during the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.