Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Short Interest Up 19.1% in March

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,010,466 shares, a growth of 19.1% from the February 26th total of 1,688,677 shares. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 305,678 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.6 days.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In other news, Director John J. Morrissey sold 1,988 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.70, for a total transaction of $170,371.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,417.90. This trade represents a 13.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 524 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $44,540.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,125,995. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,943,817 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $411,134,000 after buying an additional 769,086 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Independent Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,117,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 57.9% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,703,144 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,102,000 after acquiring an additional 624,833 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 84.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,261,622 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,199,000 after acquiring an additional 576,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 657,570 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,351,000 after acquiring an additional 289,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of INDB stock opened at $76.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.79. Independent Bank has a 1 year low of $52.15 and a 1 year high of $87.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.35.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The bank reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $253.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.64 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.88% and a net margin of 17.51%. On average, research analysts predict that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 30th. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

INDB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on Independent Bank in a research note on Monday, March 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Barclays downgraded Independent Bank from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Independent Research set a $80.00 target price on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.75.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Group, Inc (NASDAQ:INDB) is a bank holding company headquartered in McKinney, Texas, that provides a range of financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank. Tracing its roots to the late 19th century, the company has grown from a single community bank into a regional financial institution serving individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. Independent Bank Group became a bank holding company in 1983 and expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

The company’s primary business activities encompass retail and commercial banking, including deposit products, consumer and business lending and credit services.