Investors never know what to expect for Independent Bank Corp. (Nasdaq: INDB), as it has wavered between topping and missing analysts estimates during the past fiscal year. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Thursday, Oct. 20. Independent Bank is a bank holding company which, through its subsidiary bank, is engaged in commercial banking, retail banking, investment management services, retail investments, and insurance sales.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on Independent Bank Corp. with analysts unanimously rating it hold. Analysts don't like Independent Bank Corp. as much as competitor Boston Private Financial Holdings overall. Two out of eight analysts rate Boston Private Financial Holdings a buy compared to zero of six for Independent Bank Corp. Analysts' rating of Independent Bank Corp. has stayed constant from three months prior.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $56 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a rise of 6% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.56 per share. Estimates range from $0.53 cents to $0.59.

What our community says:
Most CAPS All-Stars are skeptical of Independent's prospects, with 55.6% assigning it an "underperform" rating. While the All-Stars do not like Independent, the community likes it, with 60.7% giving it an "outperform" rating The Fool community on the other hand is more skeptical with 39.3% awarding it an "underperform" rating. Fools are bearish on Independent, and the message boards have been quiet lately with only 13 posts in the past 30 days. Independent's bearish CAPS rating of one out of five stars falls somewhat short of the Fool community sentiment.

Management:
Independent's profit has risen year over year by an average of 38.2% over the past five quarters. Revenue has now gone up for three straight quarters.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows net margins over the past four quarters.

Quarter

Q2

Q1

Q4

Q3

Net Margin

17.7%

18.2%

18.5%

17.9%

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