TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

TOWN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of TowneBank in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group increased their target price on shares of TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

TowneBank Stock Down 1.0%

TowneBank stock opened at $34.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.67. TowneBank has a twelve month low of $25.70 and a twelve month high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.77% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $190.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $191.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from TowneBank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. TowneBank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TowneBank

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in TowneBank by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 34,790 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 8,335 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,482,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $254,843,000 after buying an additional 49,970 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 258.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,434 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 845,335 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,792,000 after buying an additional 6,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of TowneBank by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 143,914 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,758,000 after acquiring an additional 68,479 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

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.