Short Interest in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Grows By 18.0%

Key Points

• Short interest in SBCF rose 18.0% in March to 4,135,669 shares (about 4.3% of shares outstanding), producing a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 5.0.
• Company insiders sold 29,752 shares worth $976,846 over the last quarter — including director Dennis S. Hudson III’s sale of 8,000 shares — leaving insiders with about 1.6% ownership.
• Institutional investors have been net buyers: RBC increased its stake 41.5%, AQR boosted holdings 123.4%, Jane Street opened a new ~$4.8M position, and institutions/hedge funds now own about 81.77% of the stock.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,135,669 shares, an increase of 18.0% from the February 26th total of 3,505,955 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 819,266 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

In other news, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.34, for a total value of $250,720.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 236,854 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,423,004.36. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis J. Arczynski sold 3,419 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.21, for a total transaction of $116,963.99. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,210. The trade was a 77.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,752 shares of company stock valued at $976,846. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 41.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 107,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,777,000 after buying an additional 31,636 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 123.4% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 82,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,133,000 after buying an additional 45,792 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 50,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,293,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida during the 1st quarter worth about $4,817,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. 81.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SBCF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.90.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of SBCF traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.29. The company had a trading volume of 358,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 757,491. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 1 year low of $21.36 and a 1 year high of $35.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $32.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.63.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.07). Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 15.47%.The firm had revenue of $204.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $201.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 53.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.50%.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

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.

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.