Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Towne Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised Towne Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, October 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.00.

Towne Bank Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ TOWN opened at $37.23 on Monday. Towne Bank has a 12-month low of $29.43 and a 12-month high of $38.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.77.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $221.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.43 million. Towne Bank had a net margin of 15.12% and a return on equity of 10.11%. Towne Bank’s revenue was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Towne Bank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Towne Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lifted its holdings in Towne Bank by 1,020.2% during the third quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 205,116 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,091,000 after purchasing an additional 186,805 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Towne Bank by 617.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 70,831 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 60,953 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Towne Bank during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,068,000. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Towne Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $604,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Towne Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at about $362,000. 55.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Towne Bank Company Profile

TowneBank is a Virginia‐based financial services company organized as a bank holding company. Its primary subsidiary, TowneBank, operates a network of community banking offices and mortgage production facilities. The company offers a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking solutions, including deposit accounts, lending products, treasury management, and private banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and middle‐market corporations.

In addition to traditional banking, TowneBank provides specialty services through affiliated subsidiaries.