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

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated their market perform rating on shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) in a research note released on Monday,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

LKFN 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’s fifty day moving average price is $70.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.88. Lakeland Financial has a one year low of $57.45 and a one year high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 22.85% and a return on equity of 13.64%. On average, research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 49.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were 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 owns 32,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,386,912.50. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,150 shares of company stock worth $305,327. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the third quarter valued at $199,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 41.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 82,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,368,000 after purchasing an additional 24,030 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 130.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 50,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 28,851 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 57,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,773,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $616,000. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Lakeland Financial

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.