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

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 232,400 shares, an increase of 23.2% from the February 28th total of 188,700 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 119,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Independent Bank Stock Down 0.2 %

IBCP traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $30.80. 86,193 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,110. Independent Bank has a 12-month low of $22.53 and a 12-month high of $40.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.43 and a 200 day moving average of $34.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $645.97 million, a P/E ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.85.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.10. Independent Bank had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 20.67%. Analysts predict that Independent Bank will post 3.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Independent Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 4th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBCP. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Independent Bank by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 22,728 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 77,874 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Independent Bank by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 647,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,597,000 after acquiring an additional 29,475 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Independent Bank by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Independent Bank by 11.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 21,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $712,000 after purchasing an additional 2,213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on IBCP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Independent Bank from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Independent Bank Company Profile

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.