Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Up 4.3%

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)’s share price shot up 4.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $62.25 and last traded at $62.24. 20,907 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 111,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.70.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.04 and a 200 day moving average of $63.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 0.68.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 22.81%. The firm had revenue of $60.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.10 million. Equities research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is currently 53.04%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In other news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $31,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,179.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 359.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $60,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 10,016.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.