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

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 757,400 shares, a decline of 10.3% from the May 31st total of 844,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 272,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Independent Bank Stock Down 1.6 %

INDB stock traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $48.85. 28,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,017. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. Independent Bank has a 1-year low of $44.27 and a 1-year high of $68.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.77.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $167.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.80 million. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 23.97%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Independent Bank will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

INDB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Independent Bank from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Independent Bank from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of INDB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Independent Bank by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,272,986 shares of the bank’s stock worth $347,015,000 after acquiring an additional 69,312 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Independent Bank by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,753,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,415,000 after purchasing an additional 164,254 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Independent Bank by 0.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 677,367 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,252,000 after purchasing an additional 3,359 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Independent Bank by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 518,119 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,097,000 after purchasing an additional 93,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Independent Bank by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,236 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,513,000 after buying an additional 25,664 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.