Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Up 4.3%

Lakeland Financial Co. (NASDAQ:LKFN) shares shot up 4.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $62.25 and last traded at $62.24. 20,907 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 111,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $59.70.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.04 and a 200 day moving average of $63.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99 and a beta of 0.68.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $60.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.10 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.34% and a net margin of 22.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that Lakeland Financial Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is currently 53.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, SVP Kyra E. Clark sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total value of $31,015.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $471,179.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 359.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 10,016.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.