Independent Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:IBCP) Short Interest Up 37.2% in March

Independent Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:IBCP) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 644,457 shares, an increase of 37.2% from the March 15th total of 469,885 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 297,572 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 3.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IBCP. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $287,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 469.8% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 130,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,032,000 after acquiring an additional 107,972 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Independent Bank by 4.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,206,000 after purchasing an additional 12,855 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Independent Bank by 24.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 71,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,190,000 after purchasing an additional 13,926 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IBCP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Independent Bank from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Independent Bank has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.67.

Independent Bank Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ IBCP traded down $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $34.36. The company had a trading volume of 129,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,164. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $34.54 and a 200 day moving average of $33.31. Independent Bank has a 1-year low of $29.37 and a 1-year high of $37.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $707.47 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.76.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $46.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.52 million. Independent Bank had a net margin of 21.73% and a return on equity of 14.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 3rd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 3rd. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Independent Bank Company Profile

Independent Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: IBCP) is a bank holding company headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through its primary subsidiary, Independent Bank, the company offers a full range of commercial and personal banking services designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses and corporate clients. The company’s offerings span traditional branch-based banking as well as digital and mobile platforms.

Independent Bank provides deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit.