Royce & Associates LP Increases Stock Position in Towne Bank $TOWN

Royce & Associates LP increased its position in shares of Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 603,649 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 40,650 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.80% of Towne Bank worth $20,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TOWN. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its stake in Towne Bank by 1,020.2% during the 3rd quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 205,116 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,091,000 after purchasing an additional 186,805 shares in the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Towne Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,068,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Towne Bank by 617.1% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 70,831 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after buying an additional 60,953 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Towne Bank during the third quarter worth approximately $604,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in shares of Towne Bank in the second quarter worth $362,000. 55.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Towne Bank Trading Down 3.3%

NASDAQ TOWN opened at $34.26 on Monday. Towne Bank has a one year low of $29.43 and a one year high of $37.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 0.75.

Towne Bank (NASDAQ:TOWN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 30th. The bank reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.71 by ($0.01). Towne Bank had a return on equity of 10.11% and a net margin of 15.12%.The business had revenue of $221.09 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $225.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Towne Bank’s revenue was up 25.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Towne Bank will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Towne Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Towne Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on TOWN. Zacks Research lowered shares of Towne Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Towne Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Towne Bank has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

About Towne Bank

TowneBank is a Virginia‐based financial services company organized as a bank holding company. Its primary subsidiary, TowneBank, operates a network of community banking offices and mortgage production facilities. The company offers a comprehensive range of commercial and consumer banking solutions, including deposit accounts, lending products, treasury management, and private banking services tailored to individuals, small businesses, and middle‐market corporations.

In addition to traditional banking, TowneBank provides specialty services through affiliated subsidiaries.