Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. Increases Position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida $SBCF

Key Points

• Deprince Race & Zollo increased its stake in Seacoast Banking (NASDAQ:SBCF) by 3.5% to 2,224,435 shares — about 2.27% of the company and worth ~$69.9 million — and institutional investors now own roughly 81.77% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with a consensus rating of “Hold” and a $31.90 price target (three Buys, four Holds), though Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $38 and upgraded to “Outperform.”
• Seacoast posted Q4 EPS of $0.44 (missing estimates) but revenue rose 53% YoY and beat expectations; the bank pays a $0.19 quarterly dividend (2.3% yield) while insiders have sold about 29,752 shares (~$977k) in the past 90 days.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,224,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 76,192 shares during the period. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida accounts for approximately 1.3% of Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. owned approximately 2.27% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida worth $69,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBCF. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 41.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 107,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,777,000 after buying an additional 31,636 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 123.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 82,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 45,792 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,187 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida during the first quarter worth approximately $4,817,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBCF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.90.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Price Performance

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida stock opened at $32.37 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.73 and a 200-day moving average of $31.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.91. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 52-week low of $21.53 and a 52-week high of $35.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $204.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.25 million. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 7.07%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's revenue for the quarter was up 53.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

In other Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida news, Director Dennis J. Arczynski sold 3,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.21, for a total transaction of $116,963.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,210. This trade represents a 77.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Maryann Goebel sold 3,419 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.23, for a total transaction of $117,032.37. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $205,380. This represents a 36.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,752 shares of company stock worth $976,846. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Profile

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as a bank holding company through its principal subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank. Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, Seacoast National Bank provides a full range of commercial and retail banking services across the coastal region of Florida. Its network of branches serves customers from Martin County through Miami-Dade County, offering deposit accounts, lending solutions, cash management and payment services to individuals, small businesses and middle-market companies.

In addition to traditional banking, Seacoast offers specialized mortgage lending and wealth management services.

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