Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LKFN. Stephens set a $66.00 price objective on Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Hovde Group cut shares of Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $60.76 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 one year low of $50.00 and a one year high of $70.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $58.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.75.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.11. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, January 25th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 248.0% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 80.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial in the first quarter worth $215,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.