TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $37.30 and last traded at $37.30, with a volume of 438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded TowneBank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of TowneBank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

TowneBank Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.96 and its 200 day moving average is $31.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16 and a beta of 0.89.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $258.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $179.80 million. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.32% and a net margin of 14.89%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that TowneBank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. TowneBank’s payout ratio is 50.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in TowneBank during the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in TowneBank during the 2nd quarter worth about $62,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in TowneBank in the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,000. KBC Group NV acquired a new position in TowneBank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $100,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 137.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the bank’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares during the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TowneBank Company Profile

TowneBank provides retail and commercial banking services for individuals, commercial enterprises, and professionals. The company operates through three segments: Banking, Realty, and Insurance. It accepts various deposits, including demand deposits, savings accounts, money rate savings, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.