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 report published on Sunday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Hovde Group increased their target price on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKFN opened at $61.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial has a twelve month low of $54.36 and a twelve month high of $69.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $61.38 and a 200 day moving average of $60.10.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The company had revenue of $70.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lakeland Financial will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $357,658.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,719,000 after purchasing an additional 19,967 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 106,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,078,000 after buying an additional 10,241 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 181.7% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 32,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 20,992 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 159,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,086,000 after buying an additional 26,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $654,000. 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.