Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 808,500 shares, an increase of 22.1% from the October 31st total of 662,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 281,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Independent Bank Stock Up 0.4 %

Independent Bank stock traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $72.67. 253,845 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 280,833. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.80. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Independent Bank has a one year low of $45.11 and a one year high of $77.23.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The bank reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.02. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 6.74% and a net margin of 20.26%. The company had revenue of $250.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in Independent Bank in the third quarter valued at $2,060,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 51,722 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Independent Bank by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,017,400 shares of the bank’s stock worth $60,170,000 after purchasing an additional 8,987 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Independent Bank by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,976 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,616,000 after buying an additional 40,697 shares during the period. Finally, Dean Investment Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dean Investment Associates LLC now owns 49,195 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,909,000 after acquiring an additional 16,993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

INDB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Independent Bank from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Independent Bank from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $74.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

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.