Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05, FiscalAI reports. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 25.81%.The firm had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of Lakeland Financial stock opened at $63.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.79. Lakeland Financial has a 1 year low of $54.36 and a 1 year high of $69.40.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Hovde Group upped their price objective on Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In related news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 2,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.49, for a total value of $131,342.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 33,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,044,972.93. This represents a 6.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,336 shares of company stock valued at $570,251. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth $795,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,416,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 148.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 82,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,686,000 after purchasing an additional 49,020 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $991,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.