Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) Short Interest Up 8.5% in October

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 269,800 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the September 30th total of 248,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 109,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $27.00 to $37.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christina Keller sold 1,400 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.85, for a total value of $45,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $136,754.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the third quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1,729.2% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,029 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 36.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the first quarter valued at about $173,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 64.2% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Independent Bank Stock Down 2.3 %

IBCP stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $32.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 70,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 95,312. The firm has a market capitalization of $685.17 million, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.43. Independent Bank has a 52-week low of $19.66 and a 52-week high of $35.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.11). Independent Bank had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.11%. The company had revenue of $77.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.65%.

Independent Bank Company Profile

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.