D.A. Davidson’s Kevin K. Reevey believes Lakeland Financial Corporation LKFN deserves to trade at a premium to peers, given the company’s consistently above-average profitability, leading position across some of Indiana’s most attractive markets and robust credit quality.
Reevey initiated coverage of the company with a Neutral rating and price target of $51.
High Performing Company
“The management team of LKFN has a built a high performing full service relationship oriented community bank catering to the banking and financial needs of businesses and individuals in its markets,” the analyst mentioned.
Reevey believes Lakeland Financial will continue to deliver ROA and ROE of more that 1.20 percent and 12.0 percent, respectively, driven by “thoughtful and deliberate” organic growth, “laser” focus on client needs and building long term customer relationships.
Well Positioned
According to the D.A. Davidson report, “Lakeland Financial is one of the top five players in some of the Hoosier state’s best markets, which include Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Elkhart and Indianapolis.”
Population growth in these markets is expected to be among the fastest in Indiana over the next five years.
The leading industries in Fort Wayne are manufacturing and healthcare, while in Warsaw, the orthopedic and medical device sectors are likely to be the key economic growth engines.
In addition, Elkhart is expected to continue to attract suppliers and manufacturers.
“Given LKFN’s market leadership position in these markets, we believe the company is well positioned to capitalize on these trends,” the analyst added.
Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro.
Did you like this article? Could it have been improved? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with the story link to let us know!
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
date | ticker | name | Price Target | Upside/Downside | Recommendation | Firm |
---|
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.