Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $33.23 and last traded at $32.66, with a volume of 907220 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SBCF has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James Financial set a $33.00 target price on Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $33.50 target price on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.50.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Trading Up 1.0%

The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 14th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share for the quarter. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida had a net margin of 16.93% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The firm had revenue of $83.85 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a boost from Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida’s dividend payout ratio is 42.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis S. Hudson III sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.13, for a total transaction of $249,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 251,275 shares in the company, valued at $7,822,190.75. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 5.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 953,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,544,000 after acquiring an additional 50,417 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 114,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 40,330 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,454,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 27.5% during the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 268,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,920,000 after buying an additional 57,931 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the period. 81.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

Seacoast Banking Corp. of Florida is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of integrated financial services. It provides banking and investment services to businesses and consumers, including personal and business deposit products, Internet and mobile banking, personal, commercial and mortgage loans, wealth management services, and treasury management solutions.