Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating) in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “sell” rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 21st.

Lakeland Financial Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of LKFN stock traded down $4.53 on Thursday, hitting $65.71. The stock had a trading volume of 412,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 122,690. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.37. The company has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.74. Lakeland Financial has a one year low of $59.55 and a one year high of $83.57.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $85.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.70 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 36.89% and a return on equity of 18.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other Lakeland Financial news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 550 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total value of $38,703.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $96,829.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lakeland Financial news, CAO Brok A. Lahrman sold 550 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.37, for a total value of $38,703.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $96,829.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Stephanie R. Leniski sold 2,157 shares of Lakeland Financial stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.66, for a total value of $150,256.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,661.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,051 shares of company stock worth $423,609 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 47.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 45.3% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Point72 Middle East FZE purchased a new stake in Lakeland Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.45% of the company’s stock.

About Lakeland Financial

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Lakeland Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of banking products and services. It offers commercial and consumer banking, trust and wealth management, brokerage, and treasury management commercial services. The company was founded on February 8, 1983 and is headquartered in Warsaw, IN.