Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 824,900 shares, an increase of 14.4% from the March 31st total of 721,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 308,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Independent Bank news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 800 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.83, for a total value of $42,264.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,640 shares in the company, valued at $614,941.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.97% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 13.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,598 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Independent Bank during the third quarter worth $218,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on INDB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Independent Bank from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet cut Independent Bank from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th.

Independent Bank Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of INDB stock traded down $1.63 on Monday, reaching $51.10. 170,464 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,486. Independent Bank has a one year low of $43.28 and a one year high of $68.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $50.79 and a 200-day moving average of $55.07.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.02%.

About Independent Bank

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.