Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) Short Interest Update

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 186,600 shares, a growth of 111.1% from the December 31st total of 88,400 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 106,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Transactions at Independent Bank

In other Independent Bank news, EVP Gavin A. Mohr purchased 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $36.71 per share, for a total transaction of $29,368.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,662 shares in the company, valued at $685,082.02. This represents a 4.48 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Independent Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,034,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,510,000 after acquiring an additional 69,504 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,603,000 after acquiring an additional 10,193 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Independent Bank by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 647,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,597,000 after purchasing an additional 29,475 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Independent Bank by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 499,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 349,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,660,000 after purchasing an additional 77,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IBCP traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.38. The stock had a trading volume of 54,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. Independent Bank has a one year low of $22.53 and a one year high of $40.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.38. The stock has a market cap of $759.87 million, a PE ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.03.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 20.67%. On average, research analysts forecast that Independent Bank will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 4th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 4th. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on IBCP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $41.00 price objective (up from $39.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Independent Bank from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

About Independent Bank

Independent Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and businesses in rural and suburban communities in Michigan. It offers checking and savings accounts, commercial lending, direct and indirect consumer financing, mortgage lending, and safe deposit box services.