Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.90.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SBCF opened at $30.65 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.75. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 12 month low of $21.36 and a 12 month high of $35.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16 and a beta of 0.92.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $204.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.25 million. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total transaction of $250,720.00. Following the sale, the director owned 236,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,423,004.36. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Maryann Goebel sold 3,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.23, for a total transaction of $117,032.37. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $205,380. This represents a 36.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,752 shares of company stock worth $976,846 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBCF. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 213.5% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 44,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 30,502 shares in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 22,887.6% during the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 83,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 83,082 shares during the last quarter. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida during the second quarter valued at $1,684,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 7.2% during the third quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,148,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,371,000 after acquiring an additional 143,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 534,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,773,000 after acquiring an additional 132,796 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Company Profile

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as a bank holding company through its principal subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank. Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, Seacoast National Bank provides a full range of commercial and retail banking services across the coastal region of Florida. Its network of branches serves customers from Martin County through Miami-Dade County, offering deposit accounts, lending solutions, cash management and payment services to individuals, small businesses and middle-market companies.

In addition to traditional banking, Seacoast offers specialized mortgage lending and wealth management services.