Short Interest in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Rises By 18.0%

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,135,669 shares, a growth of 18.0% from the February 26th total of 3,505,955 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 819,266 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 4.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Price Performance

NASDAQ SBCF opened at $30.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 0.92. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 1-year low of $21.36 and a 1-year high of $35.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.63.

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

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s payout ratio is currently 47.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SBCF. Zacks Research downgraded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,392 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,696.80. This trade represents a 22.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph B. Shearouse III purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $33.19 per share, for a total transaction of $132,760.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 35,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,178,245. The trade was a 12.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,752 shares of company stock valued at $976,846. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 58.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,482,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,825,000 after buying an additional 2,025,988 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 5,832,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $183,244,000 after buying an additional 837,075 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 194.6% during the second quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 1,154,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,885,000 after buying an additional 762,505 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 99.4% during the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 1,459,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,411,000 after buying an additional 727,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,088,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,732,000 after buying an additional 705,554 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

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.