Ieq Capital LLC Purchases New Shares in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida $SBCF

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has made a new investment of approximately $277,000 in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida, acquiring 10,773 shares in the first quarter.
• Brokerage upgrades have been seen for Seacoast Banking, with Zacks Research raising its rating to "strong-buy" and other firms increasing their price targets to between $29.00 to $33.00.
• Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18, reflecting a 2.3% yield and a payout ratio of 44.17%, with the dividend set for payment on September 30th.

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SBCF. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 27.7% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,869,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,834,000 after purchasing an additional 622,709 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in the first quarter valued at approximately $12,454,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 648,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,843,000 after purchasing an additional 182,350 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,866,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 1,164.4% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 97,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,507,000 after purchasing an additional 89,740 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company's stock.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Down 0.2%

SBCF stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.88. 358,521 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 540,837. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 1-year low of $21.36 and a 1-year high of $32.09. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $29.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.72. The company has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.98.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $151.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $146.08 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group lifted their price target on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.40.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions.