Short Interest in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Rises By 19.4%

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,770,000 shares, a growth of 19.4% from the August 15th total of 2,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 563,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

In other news, EVP James C. Stallings III sold 2,990 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.78, for a total value of $71,102.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,057.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SBCF. Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the first quarter worth about $47,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 147.7% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the first quarter worth approximately $60,000. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 18.2% during the second quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 4,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 52.1% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective on Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, TheStreet raised Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.20.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBCF traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.91. 2,240,532 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,657. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a 12 month low of $17.93 and a 12 month high of $34.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.17.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.04). Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida had a return on equity of 5.50% and a net margin of 15.31%. The firm had revenue of $148.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153.40 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.14%.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Company Profile

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as the bank holding company for Seacoast National Bank that provides integrated financial services to retail and commercial customers in Florida. It offers commercial and retail banking, wealth management, mortgage, and insurance services through online and mobile banking solutions; and brokerage and annuity services.