Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $36.27 and last traded at $35.80, with a volume of 827468 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SBCF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $34.00 to $35.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.45 and a 200-day moving average of $32.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36 and a beta of 0.85.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.01. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a return on equity of 8.68% and a net margin of 15.11%.The company had revenue of $209.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $209.84 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida news, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 8,000 shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.41, for a total value of $251,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 220,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,937,024.14. The trade was a 3.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 11.1% in 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 in 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 worth $183,244,000 after buying an additional 837,075 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 58.6% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,610,754 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $144,870,000 after acquiring an additional 64,986 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,150,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,427,000 after acquiring an additional 123,273 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Company Profile

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.