Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) Short Interest Up 8.5% in October

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 269,800 shares, a growth of 8.5% from the September 30th total of 248,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 109,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Christina Keller sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.85, for a total transaction of $45,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $136,754.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Independent Bank by 1,729.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 4,029 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 36.0% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $173,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 64.2% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 8,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $27.00 to $37.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $26.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

Independent Bank Stock Down 2.3 %

IBCP traded down $0.77 on Thursday, reaching $32.78. 70,706 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 95,312. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.43. Independent Bank has a 52-week low of $19.66 and a 52-week high of $35.97. The company has a market cap of $685.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $77.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.05 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.11%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Independent Bank will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 32.65%.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.