Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $21.48 and last traded at $23.84, with a volume of 434314 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Stock Up 0.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.97.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.15. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 14.95%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 680,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,730,000 after buying an additional 439,346 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in the fourth quarter worth about $6,850,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 654,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,028,000 after purchasing an additional 201,494 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 94.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 405,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,163,000 after purchasing an additional 197,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 648,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,843,000 after purchasing an additional 182,350 shares during the period. 81.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions.