Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.90.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SBCF. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research cut Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Performance

SBCF opened at $29.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.28 and its 200 day moving average is $31.64. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 12-month low of $21.36 and a 12-month high of $35.55.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.07). Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 15.47% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The business had revenue of $204.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 53.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida news, Director Dennis J. Arczynski sold 3,419 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.21, for a total transaction of $116,963.99. Following the sale, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,210. This trade represents a 77.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph M. Forlenza sold 12,635 shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.90, for a total transaction of $415,691.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,392 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,696.80. This represents a 22.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,752 shares of company stock worth $976,846. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 213.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 44,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 30,502 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 22,887.6% during the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 83,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 83,082 shares during the period. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in the second quarter valued at about $1,684,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 7.2% in the third quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 2,148,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,371,000 after acquiring an additional 143,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 33.0% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 534,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,773,000 after acquiring an additional 132,796 shares during the period. 81.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida operates as a bank holding company through its principal subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank. Headquartered in Stuart, Florida, Seacoast National Bank provides a full range of commercial and retail banking services across the coastal region of Florida. Its network of branches serves customers from Martin County through Miami-Dade County, offering deposit accounts, lending solutions, cash management and payment services to individuals, small businesses and middle-market companies.

In addition to traditional banking, Seacoast offers specialized mortgage lending and wealth management services.