Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LKFN. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Hovde Group upped their target price on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.40. 140,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,765. Lakeland Financial has a twelve month low of $54.36 and a twelve month high of $69.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.50.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $69.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.42 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $80,062.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares in the company, valued at $1,687,562.50. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total value of $131,342.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 33,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,044,972.93. The trade was a 6.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,336 shares of company stock valued at $570,251. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,568,000 after buying an additional 307,371 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after acquiring an additional 152,738 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,610,000 after acquiring an additional 130,897 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter worth $6,500,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth $5,416,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.