Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Raised to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from “sell” to “hold”, adding to a mixed analyst backdrop that still includes a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $33.13.
• The company beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.62 EPS versus the $0.58 estimate, while revenue came in roughly in line at $205.1 million. Revenue was also up 45.8% year over year.
• Shares were down 1.9% to $29.72 in Tuesday trading, and insiders have recently sold stock, including CEO Charles M. Shaffer and EVP James C. Stallings III. Meanwhile, institutional ownership remains high at 81.77%.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $33.50 to $32.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.13.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ SBCF opened at $29.72 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $30.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 0.86. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a fifty-two week low of $24.46 and a fifty-two week high of $35.55.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $205.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.51 million. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 8.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 2.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Charles M. Shaffer sold 10,367 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.88, for a total transaction of $320,132.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 174,113 shares in the company, valued at $5,376,609.44. This trade represents a 5.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Stallings III sold 7,552 shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.16, for a total transaction of $235,320.32. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,247 shares in the company, valued at $225,816.52. The trade was a 51.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 25,919 shares of company stock worth $806,173 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,088,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,732,000 after buying an additional 705,554 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 5,832,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $183,244,000 after buying an additional 837,075 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 58.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,482,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,825,000 after buying an additional 2,025,988 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,610,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $144,870,000 after buying an additional 64,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,150,592 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,427,000 after buying an additional 123,273 shares during the last quarter. 81.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Company Profile

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as a bank holding company through its principal subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank. Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, Seacoast National Bank provides a full range of commercial and retail banking services across the coastal region of Florida. Its network of branches serves customers from Martin County through Miami-Dade County, offering deposit accounts, lending solutions, cash management and payment services to individuals, small businesses and middle-market companies.

In addition to traditional banking, Seacoast offers specialized mortgage lending and wealth management services.

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