Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) have been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the three ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.00.

INDB has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on 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. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Independent Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:INDB opened at $67.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.94. Independent Bank has a fifty-two week low of $45.11 and a fifty-two week high of $77.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.05. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.57% and a net margin of 19.58%. On average, analysts expect that Independent Bank will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is presently 50.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in INDB. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Independent Bank by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,458 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 23,033 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,362,000 after buying an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 0.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 83,048 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,911,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Independent Bank by 6.8% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Independent Bank by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,911 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. 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.