Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $77.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James raised 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 research note on Monday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Independent Bank has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.00.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ INDB traded up $3.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $67.04. 468,693 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 253,872. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.78. Independent Bank has a 1 year low of $45.11 and a 1 year high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 6.74%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Independent Bank will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Independent Bank by 106.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,077 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,483,000 after purchasing an additional 12,904 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Independent Bank during the 3rd quarter worth about $535,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 59.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 338,640 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,024,000 after acquiring an additional 126,791 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 454.7% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 23,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 19,048 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in Independent Bank by 11.1% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 283,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $16,773,000 after purchasing an additional 28,373 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Company Profile

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.