Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

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

LKFN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN stock opened at $62.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial has a twelve month low of $54.36 and a twelve month high of $69.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.97.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $70.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total value of $80,062.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,687,562.50. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $865,532.36. This represents a 29.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,450 shares of company stock worth $454,713. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 403.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 383,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,568,000 after buying an additional 307,371 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 327.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 199,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,848,000 after buying an additional 152,738 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 68.8% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 321,031 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,610,000 after buying an additional 130,897 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the first quarter worth $6,500,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the fourth quarter worth $5,416,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.