Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SBCF shares. Wall Street Zen raised Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $34.00 to $35.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Juliette Kleffel sold 14,831 shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.31, for a total transaction of $508,851.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,687,193.51. The trade was a 15.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.00, for a total transaction of $136,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 216,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,373,036. This represents a 1.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 26,831 shares of company stock worth $896,132 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,282,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,297,000 after purchasing an additional 59,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 34.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 193,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,863,000 after purchasing an additional 49,301 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 97.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 464,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,056,000 after purchasing an additional 228,935 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,302,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,088,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,732,000 after buying an additional 705,554 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.77% of the company’s stock.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Stock Down 1.2%

SBCF stock opened at $33.96 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida has a 12 month low of $28.58 and a 12 month high of $36.27.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 15.11% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $209.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $209.84 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.41%.

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.