Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

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

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

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Lakeland Financial stock opened at $60.88 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $69.40.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $23,968,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,568,000 after buying an additional 307,371 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 327.9% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,848,000 after buying an additional 152,738 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,610,000 after buying an additional 130,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,500,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.