Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $30.00.

SBCF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up previously from $29.00) on shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Stock Performance

Shares of SBCF opened at $26.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida has a one year low of $21.90 and a one year high of $31.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62 and a beta of 1.09.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.15. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 14.95%. As a group, analysts expect that Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida’s payout ratio is currently 50.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 154.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 811.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida by 30.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 81.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Seacoast Banking Co. 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.