TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Stock Price Down 4.8% - Here's Why

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) dropped 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $32.07 and last traded at $32.33. Approximately 59,382 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 249,530 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TOWN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded TowneBank from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded TowneBank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

TowneBank Trading Down 3.1 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.64 and a 200 day moving average of $30.12. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 0.89.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last released 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. TowneBank had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 15.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that TowneBank will post 2.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TowneBank

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of TowneBank by 94.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 47,696 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 23,184 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of TowneBank by 92.5% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 181,730 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,099,000 after buying an additional 87,332 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of TowneBank by 2,100.3% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 21,519 shares of the bank's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 20,541 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of TowneBank by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 504,926 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,769,000 after buying an additional 21,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $516,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TowneBank

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.