Barclays PLC Raises Stock Position in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Barclays PLC lifted its stake in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) by 90.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,914 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 68,479 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.19% of TowneBank worth $4,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in TowneBank by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 504,926 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,769,000 after buying an additional 21,143 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in TowneBank in the third quarter worth about $516,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in shares of TowneBank by 224.3% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 47,995 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 33,195 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of TowneBank in the second quarter worth approximately $249,000. Finally, Arbor Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TowneBank during the third quarter valued at $577,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.99% of the company's stock.

TowneBank Price Performance

Shares of TowneBank stock traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $34.32. The company had a trading volume of 658,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,800. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.53. TowneBank has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $38.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25 and a beta of 0.91.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $258.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.80 million. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.32% and a net margin of 14.89%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. TowneBank's payout ratio is 50.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised TowneBank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

TowneBank 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.