Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) saw a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 808,500 shares, a growth of 22.1% from the October 31st total of 662,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 281,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $74.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Independent Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ:INDB traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $72.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 253,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,833. Independent Bank has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $77.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.25 and a 200-day moving average of $58.94.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $250.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.24 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 6.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.57%.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Independent Bank by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 28,160 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,578 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,184 shares of the bank’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $461,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Independent Bank by 186.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,186 shares of the bank’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 9,881 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Rockland Trust Company that provides commercial banking products and services to individuals and small-to-medium sized businesses in the United States. The company provides interest checking, money market, and savings accounts, as well as demand deposits and time certificates of deposit.