Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) Short Interest Up 42.5% in February

Independent Bank Co. (NASDAQ:IBCP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 138,700 shares, a growth of 42.5% from the January 31st total of 97,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 106,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Independent Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IBCP. PL Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Independent Bank by 3,383.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,110,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,970,000 after acquiring an additional 10,791,263 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 202.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 171,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,706,000 after acquiring an additional 114,487 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Independent Bank by 28.7% in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in 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. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in Independent Bank by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 347,986 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,120,000 after acquiring an additional 64,006 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Independent Bank Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of IBCP traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.53. 89,994 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 129,190. Independent Bank has a 1 year low of $22.53 and a 1 year high of $40.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $34.81 and its 200-day moving average is $34.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $679.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.03.

Independent Bank (NASDAQ:IBCP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Independent Bank will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Independent Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 4th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Independent Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on IBCP. DA Davidson increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $41.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Independent Bank in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

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.