Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,670,000 shares, an increase of 29.5% from the January 31st total of 1,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 383,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days.

Institutional Trading of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,239,308 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $112,978,000 after purchasing an additional 28,066 shares during the period. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 4,230,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $116,452,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,170,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $111,144,000 after acquiring an additional 305,843 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,985,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,195,000 after acquiring an additional 16,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,024,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,959,000 after acquiring an additional 23,396 shares in the last quarter. 81.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBCF traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.28. 680,904 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 405,336. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a 12 month low of $21.90 and a 12 month high of $31.68. The company's 50 day moving average price is $27.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 1.09.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.15. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 14.95%. As a group, analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens raised their price target on Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price (up from $29.00) on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.00.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Company Profile

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions.