Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Shares Gap Down - Here's Why

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $65.09, but opened at $63.17. Independent Bank shares last traded at $62.77, with a volume of 97,004 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

INDB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Independent Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $60.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.74.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. Independent Bank had a net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 7.41%. The firm had revenue of $250.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $173.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Independent Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.02%.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,000. Profund Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Independent Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $229,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 5,305 shares of the bank's stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 2,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,378 shares of the bank's stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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.