Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) Short Interest Update

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,700 shares, a growth of 42.5% from the January 31st total of 97,300 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 106,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Independent Bank Trading Down 0.7 %

IBCP stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.73. 129,615 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 130,170. Independent Bank has a fifty-two week low of $22.53 and a fifty-two week high of $40.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.82. The company has a market capitalization of $704.75 million, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Equities research analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PL Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 3,383.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,110,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $386,970,000 after acquiring an additional 10,791,263 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 202.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,706,000 after purchasing an additional 114,487 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Independent Bank by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 349,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after purchasing an additional 77,874 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Independent Bank by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,034,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,510,000 after buying an additional 69,504 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 347,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,120,000 after buying an additional 64,006 shares in the last quarter. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on IBCP shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Independent Bank from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $41.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a report on Friday, January 24th.

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.