Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $75.50 and last traded at $74.95, with a volume of 22847 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Lakeland Financial from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Lakeland Financial Trading Up 11.1 %

The company’s 50 day moving average is $65.40 and its 200-day moving average is $63.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.21 and a beta of 0.65.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 22.85% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $106.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 25th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.87%.

Insider Transactions at Lakeland Financial

In related news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total value of $52,336.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,568 shares in the company, valued at $625,938.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP James Rickard Donovan sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.42, for a total transaction of $52,336.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $625,938.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Kristin Pruitt sold 12,000 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $804,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 10,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $687,499.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,950 shares of company stock valued at $868,383. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lakeland Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in Lakeland Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in Lakeland Financial by 342.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 72.2% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the third quarter worth $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.