StockNews.com Downgrades Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) to Sell

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on SBCF. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens upped their price objective on Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.00.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBCF opened at $22.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a 12 month low of $21.90 and a 12 month high of $31.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.60.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.15. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 14.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 41,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 3,672 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the 4th quarter worth about $4,866,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in the 4th quarter valued at about $637,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 175,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,831,000 after purchasing an additional 26,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 7,837 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Company Profile

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.