Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) Trading 5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ:INDB)’s stock price was up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $63.87 and last traded at $63.86. Approximately 99,228 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 275,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on INDB. Seaport Res Ptn raised Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Independent Bank from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.83 and a 200-day moving average of $54.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.74.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:INDB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 7.41% and a net margin of 22.42%. The company had revenue of $244.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.42 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Independent Bank Corp. will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

Independent Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Independent Bank’s payout ratio is currently 44.02%.

Institutional Trading of Independent Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Independent Bank by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 509,236 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,513,000 after purchasing an additional 25,664 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Independent Bank in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,169,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 89.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 23,769 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after buying an additional 11,244 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Independent Bank by 462.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 52,784 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after buying an additional 43,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Independent Bank during the first quarter worth $461,000. Hedge funds and other 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.