SG Americas Securities LLC Makes New Investment in TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,609 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TOWN. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of TowneBank by 94.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of TowneBank by 92.5% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 181,730 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,099,000 after acquiring an additional 87,332 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 20,541 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of TowneBank by 4.4% in the second 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 during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in TowneBank by 224.3% during the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 47,995 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,309,000 after acquiring an additional 33,195 shares in the last quarter. 55.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TowneBank Stock Performance

TOWN opened at $34.86 on Wednesday. TowneBank has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $35.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.26 and a 200-day moving average of $29.81. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.89.

TowneBank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $174.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.20 million. TowneBank had a net margin of 15.33% and a return on equity of 7.56%. TowneBank’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that TowneBank will post 2.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TowneBank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. TowneBank’s payout ratio is currently 49.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.