StockNews.com Downgrades Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) to Sell

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on INDB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Independent Bank from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet downgraded Independent Bank from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th.

Independent Bank Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of INDB stock opened at $48.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Independent Bank has a 1 year low of $44.27 and a 1 year high of $68.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.03). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 23.97%. The firm had revenue of $167.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.80 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Independent Bank will post 4.46 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of INDB. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $32,784,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Independent Bank by 902.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 268,315 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,730,000 after buying an additional 241,558 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Independent Bank by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,753,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $115,415,000 after buying an additional 164,254 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Independent Bank in the third quarter valued at about $4,663,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Independent Bank by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 518,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,097,000 after purchasing an additional 93,901 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit.