Short Interest in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Grows By 29.5%

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, a growth of 29.5% from the January 31st total of 1,290,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 383,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBCF traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $26.52. 14,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 389,394. The company has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.54 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $27.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.77. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a 52-week low of $21.90 and a 52-week high of $31.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 154.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 811.6% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SBCF. StockNews.com raised shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Raymond James reiterated 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 research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

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.