GSA Capital Partners LLP Buys New Position in Independent Bank Corp. $INDB

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,842 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 41,970 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,067,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,624 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 555.1% during the fourth quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 8,045 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 6,817 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 2,200 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 37,459 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens began coverage on Independent Bank in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Independent Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Hovde Group began coverage on Independent Bank in a report on Friday, May 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Independent Bank from $96.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Independent Bank has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.71.

Independent Bank Price Performance

INDB opened at $78.66 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 0.78. Independent Bank Corp. has a 12-month low of $57.01 and a 12-month high of $87.00.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 16th. The bank reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.02). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 8.66% and a net margin of 19.14%.The firm had revenue of $252.72 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. Research analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 30th were paid a $0.64 dividend. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 30th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Group, Inc (NASDAQ:INDB) is a bank holding company headquartered in McKinney, Texas, that provides a range of financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank. Tracing its roots to the late 19th century, the company has grown from a single community bank into a regional financial institution serving individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Independent Bank Group became a bank holding company in 1983 and expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

The company’s primary business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including deposit products, consumer and business lending and credit services.