TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) Short Interest Up 33.5% in February

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 888,800 shares, a growth of 33.5% from the February 13th total of 665,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 230,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company's shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TowneBank

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in TowneBank by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 361,960 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,966,000 after acquiring an additional 50,149 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in TowneBank by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,685,643 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,738,000 after purchasing an additional 18,929 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of TowneBank by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 839,050 shares of the bank's stock worth $27,739,000 after purchasing an additional 7,738 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of TowneBank by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 74,965 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 7,137 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TowneBank in the 3rd quarter valued at $322,000. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $41.00 price target on shares of TowneBank in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

TowneBank Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:TOWN traded down $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $34.74. 171,701 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,307. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.80. TowneBank has a 1-year low of $25.70 and a 1-year high of $38.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.88.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The bank reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.07. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 7.77%. As a group, research analysts predict that TowneBank will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

TowneBank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. TowneBank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.51%.

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.