Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Earns Market Perform Rating from Analysts at Hovde Group

Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a market perform rating and a $66.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN opened at $60.19 on Friday. Lakeland Financial has a 1 year low of $57.45 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58 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 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.10%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,527.50. This trade represents a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director M Scott Welch acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.40 per share, with a total value of $307,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,394,600. The trade was a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 33,337.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,667 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the third quarter valued at $616,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the third quarter valued at $320,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 902,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,801,000 after acquiring an additional 27,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 29.5% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 250,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,289,000 after acquiring an additional 56,928 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.