Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Upgraded by Raymond James to “Strong-Buy”

Raymond James upgraded shares of Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) from a market perform rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Raymond James currently has $74.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Independent Bank from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.50.

Independent Bank Price Performance

INDB stock opened at $62.37 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Independent Bank has a one year low of $44.63 and a one year high of $68.75.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. Independent Bank had a net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm had revenue of $250.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in INDB. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank in the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. Profund Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $229,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,378 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 102.6% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the bank’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit.