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

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Hovde Group cut Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN opened at $60.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $58.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.26. Lakeland Financial has a one year low of $50.00 and a one year high of $69.40. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.72.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 24.51%.The company had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts predict that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, January 25th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director M Scott Welch purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.23 per share, for a total transaction of $562,300.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 212,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,921,097.38. This trade represents a 4.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total value of $331,776.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,177,588.08. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,419,050. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LKFN. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,794 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,614,000 after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,427 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 15,404 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after purchasing an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lakeland Financial

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.