Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 178,300 shares, a decline of 10.6% from the May 31st total of 199,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 72,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ IBCP traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $26.05. The stock had a trading volume of 39,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,895. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.94. Independent Bank has a 1-year low of $16.45 and a 1-year high of $27.88. The company has a market cap of $544.45 million, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 1.01.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.11. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 20.45%. The firm had revenue of $52.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.50 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised Independent Bank to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Tuesday, April 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Independent Bank

In other Independent Bank news, Director Christina Keller sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total transaction of $56,688.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $155,018.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Independent Bank news, EVP Stefanie M. Kimball sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.49, for a total transaction of $41,633.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,090.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christina Keller sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.62, for a total value of $56,688.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,563 shares in the company, valued at $155,018.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $135,821. Corporate insiders own 5.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBCP. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 773,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,193,000 after acquiring an additional 87,852 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 234,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,294,000 after acquiring an additional 21,567 shares during the period. Ziegler Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 27,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 2,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.