Lakeland Financial Q3 profit up as interest margin expands

Overview * Lakeland Financial Q3 net income rises 13% yr/yr to $26.4 mln * Net interest income for Q3 increases 14% yr/yr * Net interest margin improves to 3.50% from 3.16% yr/yr Outlook * Company did not provide specific financial guidance for future quarters or the full year Result Drivers * NET INTEREST MARGIN – Improved by 34 basis points to 3.50% due to reduced funding costs and favorable interest rate environment * NONINTEREST INCOME – Increased by 9% driven by higher commercial loan fees and wealth advisory fees * LOAN ORIGINATION – Exceeded $400 million, contributing to growth in commercial and industrial loan segments Key Details Metric Beat/Mis Actual Consensu s s Estimate Q3 EPS $1.03 Q3 Net $26.40 Income mln Q3 Net $56.07 Interest mln Income Q3 CET1 15.06% Capital Ratio Q3 Net 3.50% Interest Margin (%) Analyst Coverage * The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is 2 "strong buy" or "buy", 3 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell" * The average consensus recommendation for the banks peer group is "buy." * Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Lakeland Financial Corp is $68.00, about 9% above its October 24 closing price of $61.85 * The stock recently traded at 15 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 16 three months ago Press Release: For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact . (This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)

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