Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $39.52 and last traded at $39.52, with a volume of 2301 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $38.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Independent Bank Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.51 and its 200-day moving average is $30.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $810.32 million, a P/E ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $77.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.05 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 19.93%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank Co. will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 32.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christina Keller sold 1,400 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.85, for a total transaction of $45,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,754.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 41.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 44,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,132,000 after buying an additional 13,055 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 8.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 83,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,109,000 after purchasing an additional 6,267 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,768,000 after acquiring an additional 50,681 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,080,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,392,000 after purchasing an additional 12,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Independent Bank by 52.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 331,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,399,000 after purchasing an additional 113,408 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

About Independent Bank

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.