Dark Forest Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 19,232 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in TowneBank by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 17,067 shares of the bank's stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in TowneBank by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,354 shares of the bank's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in TowneBank by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,073 shares of the bank's stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in TowneBank by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 30,112 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,033,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in TowneBank by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 167,173 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,694,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TowneBank Price Performance

Shares of TOWN stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, hitting $32.90. 172,815 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 257,862. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $33.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.61. TowneBank has a 52-week low of $25.70 and a 52-week high of $38.28.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $190.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.29 million. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that TowneBank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TOWN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $41.00 price target on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Hovde Group raised their target price on shares of TowneBank from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday.

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.