Contrasting Lakeland Financial (LKFN) & Its Competitors

Lakeland Financial (NASDAQ:LKFN) is one of 919 public companies in the “Banks” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Lakeland Financial to related companies based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lakeland Financial and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lakeland Financial	$421.71 million	$103.36 million	14.07
Lakeland Financial Competitors	$9.95 billion	$2.42 billion	17.47

Lakeland Financial’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Lakeland Financial. Lakeland Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility & Risk

Lakeland Financial has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lakeland Financial’s competitors have a beta of 0.53, meaning that their average share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Lakeland Financial pays an annual dividend of $2.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Lakeland Financial pays out 46.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Banks” companies pay a dividend yield of 9.2% and pay out 28.9% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Lakeland Financial has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Lakeland Financial lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.2% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Lakeland Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of shares of all “Banks” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Lakeland Financial and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lakeland Financial	0	5	0	0	2.00
Lakeland Financial Competitors	7465	30196	27762	1465	2.35

Lakeland Financial presently has a consensus price target of $65.67, suggesting a potential upside of 4.40%. As a group, “Banks” companies have a potential upside of 14.46%. Given Lakeland Financial’s competitors stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lakeland Financial has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares Lakeland Financial and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lakeland Financial	26.51%	15.07%	1.59%
Lakeland Financial Competitors	15.66%	9.44%	0.93%

Summary

Lakeland Financial competitors beat Lakeland Financial on 10 of the 15 factors compared.

About Lakeland Financial

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. Its loan products include commercial and industrial, commercial real estate and multi-family residential, construction, agri-business and agricultural, consumer 1-4 family mortgage, and other commercial and consumer loans. The company also provides retail and merchant credit card services; corporate treasury management, wealth advisory, and trust services; retail brokerage services, including various financial and investment products, such as annuities and life insurance; and mobile business banking and on-line treasury management services. It serves commercial real estate, manufacturing, agriculture, construction, retail, wholesale, finance and insurance, accommodation and food services, and health care industries. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.