Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 13,917 Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial Corporation by purchasing 13,917 shares valued at approximately $827,000, representing 0.05% of the company.
• Wall Street analysts have differing opinions on Lakeland Financial, with Hovde Group upgrading the stock to "outperform" with a price target of $72.00, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target from $69.00 to $65.00.
• Lakeland Financial announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a yield of 3.03%, scheduled for payment on August 5th, following a strong quarterly earnings report where the company beat analyst expectations.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $827,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd owned about 0.05% of Lakeland Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 16,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group upgraded Lakeland Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $72.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Monday.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

Shares of LKFN stock traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $66.11. 32,162 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 173,023. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.11. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 22.55%. The company had revenue of $63.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.02 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Lakeland Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Melinda Jo Truex acquired 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.11 per share, for a total transaction of $499,453.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $992,235.77. This trade represents a 101.35% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.