Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Break Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $60.12 and traded as high as $60.58. Lakeland Financial shares last traded at $59.25, with a volume of 286,326 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 0.8%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 0.71.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $224,600,000. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the second quarter valued at $30,699,466. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,443,000 after purchasing an additional 14,584 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,365,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $12,857,000. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana. Its principal subsidiary, Lake City Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, agricultural customers and governmental entities.

Lake City Bank’s offerings include commercial and consumer loans, residential mortgages, deposit accounts, treasury and cash-management services, online and mobile banking, wealth management, and trust services. The bank serves communities primarily across northern Indiana through a network of banking offices and also provides services to customers in surrounding markets.

Lake City Bank traces its history to 1872 and has grown into one of Indiana’s longstanding community banking institutions.