STOCKS TELEGRAPH

Tag: bank holding

  • LakeLand Financial Corp. (LKFN) Stock on the Rise Following Promising Q2 2021 Financial Reports and Quarterly Developments

    LakeLand Financial Corp. (LKFN) stock prices were up 9.49% some time after the market opened on July 28th, 2021, bringing the price per share up to USD$64.95 early on in the trading day.

    LKFN Stock Approves Cash Dividend

    July 13th, 2021 saw LKFN stock’s board of directors approve a cash dividend for the second quarter of 2021. The dividend has been set at USD$0.34 per share and is payable on August 5th, 2021 to shareholders of record as of July 25th, 2021. The second-quarter dividend is the same as the dividend paid out for the first quarter of 2021, reflecting a 13% increase from the dividend rate from the prior year’s quarter.

    Share Repurchasing Program

    LKFN stock’s board of directors also approved the reauthorization and extension of a share repurchase program on April 13th, 2021, with the program scheduled to run through to April 30th, 2023. As per the program, LKFN has been authorized to repurchase from time to time, as the company sees fit, shares of its common stock. The aggregate purchase price set by the share repurchasing program is a maximum of USD$30 million. 2021 did not see the repurchasing of any shares, while the first quarter of 2020 saw 289,101 shares being repurchased at an average price per share of USD$34.66.

    LKFN’s Allocation of Resources

    LKFN stock has deployed USD$600 million since late 2020 in excess liquidity to the company’s investment securities portfolio. This move was a response to the increase in deposit balances that started in 2020 and has carried over to 2021. The unprecedented solid liquidity position has afforded the company unique challenges, resulting in the allocation of the excess liquidity to the investment portfolio without any significant impact to LKFN’s asset sensitive balance sheet

    Commercial Line Utilization

    The company’s commercial line utilization was up from 39% in March 2021 to 41% in July 2021. Despite the improvement, this is still considerably lower than over the past several years. Over the course of the past 8 years, LKFN stock has averaged a commercial line utilization of 49%.

    Future Outlook for LKFN Stock

    Armed with solid financials for the second quarter of 2021, LKFN is keen to facilitate continued developments that will instill shareholder confidence. The company is keen to spearhead its fiscal performance as the global economy slowly returns to pre-pandemic levels. Investors are hopeful that management will be able to usher in further growth over the long term.

  • Broadway Financial Corp. (BYFC) Stock Plummets After Falling Out of Favor with Hedge Funds

    Broadway Financial Corp. (BYFC) Stock Plummets After Falling Out of Favor with Hedge Funds

    Broadway Financial Corp. (BYFC) stock prices were down by a concerning 16.3234% shortly after market trading commenced on June 17th, 2021, bringing the price per share down to USD$2.8199 early on in the trading day.

    Merger with CFBanc Financial

    The company completed its merger with CFBanc Financial Corp., with Broadway Financial Corp. continuing on as the sole surviving entity. Immediately after the execution of the merger, Broadway Bank merged with and into City First Bank of D.C., with the latter surviving as a surviving entity which concurrently changed its name to City First Bank, National Association.

    Private Placement

    Subsequent to the merger, the company completed the sale of 18,474,000 shares of its common stock in private placements with both institutional and accredited investors. The private placements saw the generation of USD$32.9 million in gross proceeds. The combination of the merger and the completion of the private placement has seen a significant increase in the company’s total equity capitalization and growth potential, as well as facilitating increased lending to communities that report low-to-moderate incomes.

    Consolidated Net Loss

    The first quarter of the fiscal year 2021 saw the company report a consolidated net loss of USD$3.5 million, representing a consolidated net loss of USD$0.13 per share. This significant year-over-year increase in net loss is primarily driven by merger related expenses amounting to USD$5.4 million. Of this total, USD$3.4 million were severance and other compensation costs, USD$1.8 million were professional service expenses, and USD$213,000 in costs arising from insurance deals.

    Total Assets

    As of March 31st, 2021, BYFC reported total assets in the amount of USD$479.6 million, a USD$3.8 million decrease from the USD$483.4 million reported as of December 31st, 2020. This year-over-year difference is largely attributable to decreases in cash and cash equivalents, amounting to USD$8 million, and investment securities available-for-sale of USD$675,000. These developments were offset by increases in loans receivable held for investment of USD$2.4 million, deferred tax assets of USD$1.5 million, and USD$1.2 million of other assets.

    Future Outlook for BYFC

    Armed with a solid liquidity position, BYFC is poised to return to its trajectory of success. The company is keen to reverse recent downwards trends in its equity value with the effective allocation of resources. Current and potential investors are hopeful that management will continue to leverage the resources at their disposal to facilitate significant and sustained increases in shareholder value.