Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $61.27 and traded as high as $63.30. Lakeland Financial shares last traded at $62.40, with a volume of 152,608 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LKFN. Hovde Group cut shares of Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lakeland Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.45 million. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 24.51%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, January 25th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Lakeland Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lakeland Financial’s payout ratio is currently 51.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.9% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 10,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Lakeland Financial by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 7,523 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in Lakeland Financial by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Lakeland Financial by 6.4% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 4,973 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 186.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lakeland Financial

Lakeland Financial Corporation is a bank holding company based in Warsaw, Indiana, that operates through its principal subsidiary, Lakeland Bank. The company offers a full range of commercial and consumer banking services, including deposit products such as checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, as well as a variety of loan offerings spanning commercial real estate, agricultural, mortgage, consumer and small-business lending.

Originally organized in 1893 as Kosciusko County State Bank, the enterprise reorganized as a bank holding company in 1984 to facilitate strategic growth and diversification.