Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Share Price Crosses Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN)’s stock price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $34.71 and traded as low as $34.62. Towne Bank shares last traded at $35.18, with a volume of 685,890 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TOWN shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Towne Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Towne Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Towne Bank Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.71.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $215.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $222.28 million. Towne Bank had a net margin of 15.69% and a return on equity of 9.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Towne Bank will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.21%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Towne Bank by 32.3% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 34,996 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 8,538 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Towne Bank by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,837 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Towne Bank by 56.6% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 381,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,052,000 after purchasing an additional 137,988 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Towne Bank by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 157,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,392,000 after purchasing an additional 7,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Towne Bank by 1,220.9% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 157,411 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,382,000 after buying an additional 145,494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

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.