Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Lowers Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Price Target to $65.00

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $69.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.61% from the company's previous close.

Separately, Hovde Group assumed coverage on Lakeland Financial in a report on Friday, March 21st. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of LKFN stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $54.34. 57,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 131,976. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $59.19 and a 200 day moving average of $65.90. Lakeland Financial has a 1 year low of $50.00 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The firm has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.64.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.09). Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.31% and a net margin of 21.74%. The company had revenue of $90.46 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.54 million. Analysts expect that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Donald Robinson-Gay sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.25, for a total value of $36,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at $329,527.50. This represents a 9.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director M Scott Welch acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $61.40 per share, for a total transaction of $307,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,394,600. This trade represents a 14.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LKFN. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $23,111,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,560,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,242 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,126,000 after purchasing an additional 107,765 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,940,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $133,419,000 after buying an additional 100,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 132.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 134,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,248,000 after buying an additional 76,562 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.