NFJ Investment Group LLC Invests $14.82 Million in Towne Bank $TOWN

NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 444,099 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $14,820,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 22.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 330,937 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,441,000 after purchasing an additional 59,770 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 51.5% in the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 341,471 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,805,000 after purchasing an additional 116,013 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Towne Bank by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 175,430 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,854,000 after purchasing an additional 34,133 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Towne Bank by 7.2% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 603,649 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $20,868,000 after acquiring an additional 40,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Towne Bank by 147.2% in the third quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 157,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,437,000 after acquiring an additional 93,673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.99% of the company’s stock.

Towne Bank Stock Up 1.5%

TOWN opened at $35.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Towne Bank has a 52 week low of $31.91 and a 52 week high of $37.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.66.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74. The business had revenue of $247.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $274.02 million. Towne Bank had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 13.51%.The firm’s revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Towne Bank will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This is a positive change from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Towne Bank in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Towne Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research cut Towne Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their target price on Towne Bank from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Towne Bank 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.