Lakeland Financial (LKFN) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect Lakeland Financial to post earnings of $0.86 per share for the quarter.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 23.85% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $65.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. On average, analysts expect Lakeland Financial to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $58.68 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Lakeland Financial has a one year low of $43.05 and a one year high of $73.22. The company has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.67.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael L. Kubacki sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $1,902,166.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,846,098. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Michael L. Kubacki sold 26,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.51, for a total transaction of $1,902,166.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,846,098. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Findlay sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.26, for a total transaction of $783,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $925,060.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,728 shares of company stock valued at $3,670,449. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 3.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,807,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,953,000 after buying an additional 128,992 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,847,688 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,395,000 after purchasing an additional 42,862 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 27.4% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,308,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,484,000 after purchasing an additional 280,943 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 942,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,748,000 after purchasing an additional 5,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1.3% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 772,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,405,000 after buying an additional 10,045 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $60.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

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.