Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) shares opened at $29.76 after a better-than-expected earnings report, closing at $29.18 with significant trading volume.
• The company reported an EPS of $0.52, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.42, along with revenue of $151.40 million, exceeding projections.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.18 has been announced, with a yield of 2.49% and a payout ratio of 48.32%.
• Institutional investors hold 81.77% of Seacoast Banking's shares, indicating strong confidence in the company's performance.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $28.81, but opened at $29.76. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida shares last traded at $29.18, with a volume of 34,526 shares traded.

The financial services provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.10. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $151.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's payout ratio is 44.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBCF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $28.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 4,230,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $116,452,000 after buying an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,985,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,195,000 after acquiring an additional 16,214 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 27.7% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 2,869,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $73,834,000 after acquiring an additional 622,709 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,011,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $55,377,000 after acquiring an additional 14,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,916,743 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,318,000 after acquiring an additional 58,560 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company's stock.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Down 1.1%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions.