Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Lowers Stock Holdings in Towne Bank $TOWN

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its position in Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 623,214 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 24,100 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Towne Bank were worth $20,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TOWN. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Towne Bank by 931.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 753 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Towne Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Towne Bank in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Towne Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, CrossGen Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Towne Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Towne Bank Stock Performance

Shares of TOWN opened at $38.76 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.69. Towne Bank has a 1 year low of $31.91 and a 1 year high of $39.03.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.01). Towne Bank had a return on equity of 9.99% and a net margin of 25.64%.The company had revenue of $245.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $245.33 million. On average, analysts predict that Towne Bank will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Towne Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Towne Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. Towne Bank’s payout ratio is presently 31.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on TOWN. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Towne Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Hovde Group dropped their price target on shares of Towne Bank from $42.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Towne Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Towne Bank in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.50.

Towne Bank Company 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.