Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from five brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of $35.00. Recent analyst actions included a price target increase from Piper Sandler and upgrades from Wall Street Zen and Weiss Ratings.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $0.62 versus the $0.58 estimate, while revenue came in at $205.1 million. Revenue was also up 45.8% year over year, and analysts expect full-year EPS of 2.51.
• Seacoast also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share, or $0.76 annualized, for a yield of about 2.3%. Insiders sold shares recently, while institutional investors continued to hold a large majority of the stock.

Shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on SBCF. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $32.50 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Down 1.6%

SBCF opened at $32.64 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.81. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 0.85. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 12 month low of $27.22 and a 12 month high of $35.55.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $205.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $205.51 million. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 14.42%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida news, EVP James C. Stallings III sold 7,552 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.16, for a total transaction of $235,320.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $225,816.52. This trade represents a 51.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 4,000 shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total value of $136,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 216,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,373,036. This trade represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 29,919 shares of company stock worth $942,733 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 bought and sold shares of SBCF. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 203.9% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,772 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 97.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 464,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,056,000 after purchasing an additional 228,935 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 47,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 43.2% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 118,324 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,584,000 after purchasing an additional 35,693 shares during the last quarter. 81.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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