Lakeland Bancorp (NASDAQ:LBAI) Upgraded to Hold by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lakeland Bancorp (NASDAQ:LBAI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Lakeland Bancorp from $17.50 to $16.65 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

Lakeland Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LBAI opened at $11.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Lakeland Bancorp has a twelve month low of $10.65 and a twelve month high of $16.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $12.02 and its 200-day moving average is $12.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.85.

Lakeland Bancorp (NASDAQ:LBAI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.30. Lakeland Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 16.42%. The firm had revenue of $72.09 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lakeland Bancorp will post 1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lakeland Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. Lakeland Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lakeland Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Lakeland Bancorp by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 26,706 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in shares of Lakeland Bancorp by 26.1% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 4,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in Lakeland Bancorp by 0.9% during the first quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 95,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Lakeland Bancorp by 3.9% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 24,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Lakeland Bancorp by 24.8% in the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 950 shares in the last quarter. 59.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Lakeland Bancorp

Lakeland Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Lakeland Bank that provides financial products and services for businesses and consumers. It provides commercial banking services, including savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as demand deposits. The company also offers lending services, including commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, short and medium term loans, lines of credit, letters of credit, inventory and accounts receivable financing, real estate construction loans, residential mortgage loans, small business administration loans, and merchant credit card services; financing solutions to small and medium-sized companies; online banking, mobile banking, and wire transfer services to the business community and municipal relationships; and cash management services, such as remote capture of deposits and overnight sweep repurchase agreements.