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

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on LKFN. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Hovde Group lowered Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 3.2%

LKFN opened at $58.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Lakeland Financial has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $69.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $59.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 0.75.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $69.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total value of $331,776.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,177,588.08. This represents a 21.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director M Scott Welch acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.95 per share, with a total value of $579,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 49,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,839,550. This represents a 25.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.9% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 10,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 20,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in Lakeland Financial by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.