Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 5.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44 and a beta of 0.63.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. Equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.10%.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director M Scott Welch purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $61.40 per share, for a total transaction of $307,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at $329,527.50. This represents a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 956,565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,773,000 after purchasing an additional 51,624 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 53.5% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 7,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lakeland Financial

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.