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

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock 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 equities analysts have recently issued reports on LKFN shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday, January 27th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $66.00 target price for the company.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.21 and a 200-day moving average of $67.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 0.63.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director M Scott Welch acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 39,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,527.50. The trade was a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

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.