Armis Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,106 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TOWN. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $642,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 150,598 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,129,000 after acquiring an additional 23,145 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,797 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 6,514 shares during the last quarter. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank in the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 1,265.5% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 243,773 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,303,000 after acquiring an additional 225,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

TowneBank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN opened at $33.93 on Tuesday. TowneBank has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $38.28. The company has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $33.19 and its 200 day moving average is $34.66.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $190.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $191.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. TowneBank’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that TowneBank will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from TowneBank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. TowneBank’s payout ratio is currently 45.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TOWN. Wall Street Zen lowered TowneBank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their target price on TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

TowneBank 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.