Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

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

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

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of LKFN opened at $56.88 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.35 and a 200-day moving average of $60.84. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18 and a beta of 0.73. Lakeland Financial has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.45 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 24.51%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total value of $331,776.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,177,588.08. The trade was a 21.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director M Scott Welch purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.95 per share, for a total transaction of $579,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 49,000 shares in the company, valued at $2,839,550. This trade represents a 25.64% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $1,523,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Lakeland Financial by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 99,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,390,000 after purchasing an additional 12,436 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the third quarter worth $23,968,000. TrueMark Investments LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 504.6% during the third quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC now owns 93,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,995,000 after buying an additional 77,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 49.3% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 52,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,256,000 after buying an additional 17,507 shares in the last quarter. 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.