Dark Forest Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) by 279.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,804 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of Lakeland Financial worth $1,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LKFN. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 809.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 1.1 %

Lakeland Financial stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.47. The stock had a trading volume of 43,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,176. Lakeland Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $78.61. The company has a fifty day moving average of $58.95 and a 200 day moving average of $65.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.64.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $90.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.54 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 21.74% and a return on equity of 13.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LKFN. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Lakeland Financial from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Friday, March 21st. They set a "market perform" rating and a $66.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.94, for a total value of $92,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $384,709.34. This represents a 19.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total transaction of $36,437.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $329,527.50. This represents a 9.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.