Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $56.80 and last traded at $57.03, with a volume of 798 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on Lakeland Financial in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 price target on the stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 3.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.22.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.10%.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total transaction of $92,910.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,709.34. The trade was a 19.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 39,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,394,600. This represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 809.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.