Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: LBAI) Q4 Profit Surges

The shares of LBAI opened at $10.16 on Thursday and rushed high after it reported its Q4 Results. It hit the intraday high of $10.54 and an intraday low of $10.16 as compared to its 52-week range of $6.20 -$11.75. Volumes traded were 60,140, more than 1.5 times its daily average volume of 37,641 shares. The stock had a market cap of 248.34 million shares with a beta of 1.20 and P/E of 20.56 times. The company results reflected fabulous fourth quarter with increasing profits combined with strong net interest margin, controlled expenses, and a decreasing provision for loan and lease losses. Net Income Available to Common Shareholders was $4.42 million or $0.17 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2010, as compared to $1.26 million, or $0.05 per diluted share reported in the same period last year. Analysts' expected the earnings per share to be at $0.18, excluding special items. Net interest income improved to $25.25 million from $24.98 million in the year ago quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2010, net interest margin (“NIM”) at 3.93% was three basis points higher than the NIM reported for the same period last year, and equaled the third quarter of 2010. The NIM for 2010 was 3.95%, a 21 basis point improvement from 3.74% reported in 2009. The provision for loan and lease losses in the fourth quarter of 2010 was $4.5 million, as compared to $6.4 million for the same period in 2009. For 2010, the provision for loan and lease losses was $19.3 million. Noninterest expenses decreased to $17.57 million from $20.31 million in the comparable quarter a year ago. Noninterest bearing demand deposits of $383.9 million at December 31, 2010 increased by $4.3 million from September 30, 2010 and by $60.7 million, or 19%, from year-end 2009. The efficiency ratio for the fourth quarter of 2010 also showed an improvement. The Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per common share. The cash dividend will be paid on February 15, 2011 and record date for the same was fixed at January 31, 2011. In addition, the Company has authorized a 5% stock dividend, which will be paid on February 16, 2011 to holders of record as of the close of business January 31, 2011. The Company also declared a dividend of 5% for the quarterly dividend payment due February 15, 2011 for the preferred stock issued to the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Capital Purchase Program. Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company that operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Lakeland State Bank (Lakeland or the Bank). The Bank offers a range of lending services, including commercial loans and leases, real estate and consumer loans to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals and individuals located in its markets. The Bank offers investment and advisory services to individuals and businesses. 
Negocioenlinea
tdp2664
Epic Stock Picks