Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires New Shares in Lakeland Financial Corporation $LKFN

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Lakeland Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:LKFN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Lakeland Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $224,600,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,887,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,719,000 after purchasing an additional 19,967 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,354,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,237,000 after purchasing an additional 57,252 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lakeland Financial by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,049,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $59,867,000 after purchasing an additional 15,610 shares during the period. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lakeland Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,699,466. 81.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lakeland Financial Price Performance

Shares of LKFN stock opened at $59.61 on Monday. Lakeland Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.36 and a 1-year high of $69.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $61.58 and its 200 day moving average is $60.12. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.72.

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $70.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $72.11 million. Lakeland Financial had a net margin of 26.04% and a return on equity of 14.67%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lakeland Financial Corporation will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Lakeland Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, July 25th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Lakeland Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LKFN has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lakeland Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Lakeland Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.50.

About Lakeland Financial

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.