Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shareholders to Get $0.52 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Lakeland Financial declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, payable November 5 to shareholders of record October 25. The annualized dividend is $2.08, yielding approximately 3.7%, and marks 14 consecutive years of annual dividend increases.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a current payout ratio of 51.5%; analysts expect next year’s earnings of $4.50 per share, implying a projected payout ratio of 46.2%.
• Shares recently traded at $56.83, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and a $66.50 price target. The company’s latest quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share exceeded estimates of $1.08.

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, October 25th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share by the financial services provider on Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd.

Lakeland Financial has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Lakeland Financial has a payout ratio of 51.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Lakeland Financial to earn $4.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.2%.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of LKFN traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $56.83. 70,636 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,433. Lakeland Financial has a 1-year low of $54.36 and a 1-year high of $64.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.80 and a 200-day moving average of $60.28.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LKFN shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Lakeland Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

Lakeland Financial Corporation is the holding company for Lake City Bank, an Indiana-based community bank headquartered in Warsaw. Founded in 1872, Lake City Bank serves individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and municipalities throughout northern Indiana.

The bank provides a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial loans, agricultural lending, treasury management and cash-management services.

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