Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Short Interest Update

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,280,000 shares, an increase of 28.9% from the January 31st total of 993,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 257,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Independent Bank currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.00.

Insider Activity at Independent Bank

In related news, Director Donna L. Abelli sold 640 shares of Independent Bank stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total transaction of $44,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,495.48. The trade was a 4.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,318,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $148,835,000 after buying an additional 36,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,170,000 after buying an additional 8,987 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 687.2% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 948,244 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,868,000 after buying an additional 827,793 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 544,948 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,980,000 after buying an additional 21,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 469,359 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,128,000 after buying an additional 46,046 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:INDB traded down $2.97 on Tuesday, reaching $65.06. 269,092 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,327. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.77. Independent Bank has a 52 week low of $45.11 and a 52 week high of $77.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.45.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a net margin of 19.58% and a return on equity of 6.57%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 50.44%.

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.