Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $76.24 and last traded at $76.24, with a volume of 3606 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on INDB. Raymond James upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Independent Bank from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Independent Bank currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $63.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. Independent Bank had a net margin of 20.26% and a return on equity of 6.74%. The firm had revenue of $250.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is presently 49.57%.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in INDB. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 25.2% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,701,156 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $86,283,000 after acquiring an additional 342,201 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 258.9% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 299,234 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,177,000 after acquiring an additional 215,860 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 9.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,157,917 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,443,000 after acquiring an additional 186,680 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 1,697.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 132,435 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,831,000 after acquiring an additional 125,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Independent Bank in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,405,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Independent Bank

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.