Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Trading Down 7.9%

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating)’s stock price dropped 7.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $64.70 and last traded at $64.70. Approximately 139,679 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 117,202 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LKFN has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Lakeland Financial in a report on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Raymond James upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 21st.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.89 and a 200-day moving average of $74.36.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $85.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 36.89% and a return on equity of 18.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 25th were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total value of $38,703.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $96,829.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total value of $38,703.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $96,829.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan P. Steiner sold 3,344 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.17, for a total value of $234,648.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,164.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,051 shares of company stock worth $423,609 in the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 47.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 45.3% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 80.45% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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Lakeland Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking products and services. It offers commercial and consumer banking, trust and wealth management, brokerage, and treasury management commercial services. The company was founded on February 8, 1983 and is headquartered in Warsaw, IN.