LSV Asset Management Reduces Holdings in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 58.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,139 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 189,338 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.18% of TowneBank worth $3,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TOWN. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in TowneBank by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,036,878 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,140,000 after buying an additional 162,347 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in TowneBank by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Eudaimonia Partners LLC purchased a new stake in TowneBank in the 4th quarter valued at $336,000. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new stake in TowneBank in the 4th quarter valued at $742,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TowneBank Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of TowneBank stock opened at $32.88 on Thursday. TowneBank has a 52 week low of $21.63 and a 52 week high of $34.90. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 0.89.

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

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. TowneBank’s payout ratio is 49.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented 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 price target on TowneBank from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

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.