Lakeland Financial’s (LKFN) Market Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $74.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $73.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $68.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.88. Lakeland Financial has a fifty-two week low of $57.45 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 22.85%. On average, analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.87%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $290,986.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,386,912.50. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,150 shares of company stock valued at $305,327. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 60.0% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.