Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Stock Price

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) had its price objective hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on SBCF. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $34.00 to $35.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.50.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Price Performance

SBCF stock opened at $33.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 0.88. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 1 year low of $28.69 and a 1 year high of $36.27.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $217.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $216.32 million. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 16.27% and a return on equity of 9.49%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s payout ratio is presently 44.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

In other Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida news, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.15, for a total value of $409,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 206,869 shares in the company, valued at $7,064,576.35. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Juliette Kleffel sold 14,831 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total transaction of $508,851.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,687,193.51. This represents a 15.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBCF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,150,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,427,000 after purchasing an additional 123,273 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida during the 2nd quarter worth $23,407,000. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 163.2% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 504,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,277,000 after purchasing an additional 312,712 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 2.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 470,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,258,000 after purchasing an additional 9,454 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 97.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 464,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,056,000 after purchasing an additional 228,935 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida is a bank holding company headquartered in Stuart, Florida. It operates primarily through Seacoast National Bank, which provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions across Florida.

The company offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, commercial and residential real estate loans, consumer lending, business financing, treasury management and other deposit services. Through affiliated operations, Seacoast also provides wealth management, investment advisory and mortgage-related services.

Seacoast National Bank traces its roots to 1926 and has expanded its presence throughout Florida, including the Treasure Coast, Central Florida and South Florida.