Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on LKFN. Hovde Group cut Lakeland Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Lakeland Financial from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Stephens set a $66.00 price target on shares of Lakeland Financial in a research report on Tuesday. 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 data from MarketBeat, Lakeland Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.00.

Lakeland Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ LKFN opened at $59.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $58.77 and a 200-day moving average of $61.44. Lakeland Financial has a 52-week low of $50.00 and a 52-week high of $70.80.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $69.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.45 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 24.51% and a return on equity of 14.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lakeland Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 248.0% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 186.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1,212.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Lakeland Financial by 80.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Lakeland Financial during the 1st quarter worth $215,000. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

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.