Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from “sell” to “hold,” aligning with the broader analyst consensus of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.50.
• Lakeland Financial shares opened at $62.65, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.13, beating estimates of $1.08; revenue of $70.87 million fell short of the $72.11 million consensus.
• Insiders sold 7,450 shares worth approximately $454,713 over the past three months, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Lakeland Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lakeland Financial from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.50.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:LKFN opened at $62.65 on Friday. Lakeland Financial has a 12-month low of $54.36 and a 12-month high of $69.40. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37 and a beta of 0.73.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.67% and a net margin of 26.04%.The business had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, Director Steven D. Ross sold 1,281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $80,062.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,687,562.50. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total value of $357,658.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,278 shares in the company, valued at $865,532.36. The trade was a 29.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,450 shares of company stock valued at $454,713. 3.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 20,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 0.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,422,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 17.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 3.0% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.15% of the company's stock.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.