Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) from a "sell" to a "hold"; MarketBeat shows a consensus Hold rating with an average target price of $68.00 (one Buy, three Holds).
• Recent quarter: LKFN reported $1.07 EPS (beating estimates by $0.02) on $69.8M revenue, and the company has a $1.55B market cap, P/E of 15.29, 52-week range $50.00–$69.40, with a net margin of 24.51% and ROE of 14.19%.
• Insider and institutional activity: one director sold 5,685 shares while another bought 10,000; insiders net purchased 25,000 shares this quarter and own 3% of the stock, while institutional investors hold about 81.15%.

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

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LKFN. Stephens set a $66.00 target price on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Lakeland Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

LKFN stock opened at $61.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.72. Lakeland Financial has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $69.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.12.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.45 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bradley J. Toothaker sold 5,685 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.36, for a total transaction of $331,776.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,177,588.08. This trade represents a 21.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director M Scott Welch acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.23 per share, for a total transaction of $562,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 212,006 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,921,097.38. This represents a 4.95% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 25,000 shares of company stock worth $1,419,050. Insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 729 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 118.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 996 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 80.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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