Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 16,248 Shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida $SBCF

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation by 21.3%, now holding approximately 0.07% of the company, worth around $1.54 million.
• Analysts have upgraded the stock's ratings, with Hovde Group raising the price target to $29.00, while Zacks Research upgraded it to a strong-buy rating.
• Seacoast Banking Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing a 2.3% dividend yield on an annual basis.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Free Report) by 21.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,248 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida worth $1,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 1.3% in the first quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 509,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,117,000 after purchasing an additional 6,590 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 14.0% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 37,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 4,642 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 37.3% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 29,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 7,892 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 12.7% during the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 346,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,919,000 after purchasing an additional 39,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 1,164.4% during the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 97,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,507,000 after buying an additional 89,740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.77% of the company's stock.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Performance

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida stock traded up $0.72 on Thursday, hitting $31.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 550,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,421. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.61. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a one year low of $21.36 and a one year high of $31.68.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $151.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $146.08 million. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 16.63% and a return on equity of 6.65%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Profile

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.