Lakeland Financial's (LKFN) Market Perform Rating Reaffirmed at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $74.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock, up from their prior price target of $73.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price would suggest a potential upside of 6.41% from the stock's previous close.

Lakeland Financial Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ LKFN traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $69.54. The company had a trading volume of 172,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 159,243. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $70.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.77. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 0.69. Lakeland Financial has a one year low of $57.45 and a one year high of $78.61.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.05. Lakeland Financial had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 22.85%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lakeland Financial will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lakeland Financial

In other news, EVP Eric H. Ottinger sold 3,959 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.50, for a total value of $290,986.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 32,475 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,386,912.50. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 4,150 shares of company stock valued at $305,327 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LKFN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Lakeland Financial by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Lakeland Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Lakeland Financial by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.15% of the company's stock.

Lakeland Financial Company Profile

Lakeland Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Lake City Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest bearing, interest-bearing checking, savings, money market, NOW, and demand deposits.