LKFN
Lakeland Financial Corporation
LKFN has a slight edge over MS overall, supported by stronger valuation.
MS
Morgan Stanley
MS has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
LKFN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
LKFN's profitability is currently strong, and its revenue is stable. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like LKFN.
MS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| N/A | |
| N/A |
MS's revenue and profitability are currently healthy. Free cash flow and net leverage aren't meaningful measures for financial services companies like MS.
LKFN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $62.71 | +1.4% |
| Current | 14x | $61.84 | — |
| Forward | 14x | $61.84 | — |
| Fair | 17x | $75.20 | +22% |
| Expensive | 19x | $86.18 | +39% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LKFN has the edge over MS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
MS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 11x | $134 | -29% |
| Fair | 14x | $178 | -5.7% |
| Forward | 14x | $189 | — |
| Current | 15x | $189 | — |
| Expensive | 18x | $223 | +18% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MS's PE is in its fair range at 15x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 14x next year's earnings.
LKFN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LKFN, with profitability improving.
MS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
MS has the edge over LKFN on the outlook, with more favorable valuation expectations.
LKFN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.56 | +2% |
| Q3 2026 | $4.47 | +18% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.36 | +19% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.27 | +22% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.01 | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.79 | -1.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.67 | -6.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.50 | -3.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.63 | -0.5% |
LKFN earned $4.47 per share over the past year, up 18% from the year before.
MS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.39 | +6.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $12.60 | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $12.37 | +40% |
| Q1 2026 | $11.04 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.21 | +28% |
| Q3 2025 | $9.76 | +48% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.84 | +45% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.53 | +55% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.95 | +53% |
MS has the edge over LKFN on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
LKFN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $73M | +5.7% |
| Q2 2026 | $70.9M | +6.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $69.7M | +9.3% |
| Q4 2025 | $69.8M | +9.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $69M | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $66.4M | -3.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $63.8M | +6.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $63.6M | -3.4% |
LKFN's revenue has grown year over year for five quarters in a row: $73M last quarter, up 5.7% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 49% | +2.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 49% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 47% | +8.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 52% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 46% | +1.1 points |
| Q2 2025 | 50% | +10 points |
| Q1 2025 | 38% | -8.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 46% | -8.8 points |
LKFN has the edge over MS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
MS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $20.3B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $21.3B | +27% |
| Q1 2026 | $20.6B | +16% |
| Q4 2025 | $17.9B | +10% |
| Q3 2025 | $18.2B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $16.8B | +12% |
| Q1 2025 | $17.7B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $16.2B | +26% |
MS has the edge over LKFN on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 32% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 34% | +6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | 34% | +2.8 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | +2 points |
| Q3 2025 | 33% | +5.6 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +2.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +14 points |
MS's operating margin was 32% last quarter, down 1.2 points from the same quarter a year ago.
LKFN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $40.1M | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.1M | +36% |
| Q1 2026 | $30M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $31.5M | -14% |
| Q3 2025 | $31.1M | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.1M | -24% |
| Q1 2025 | $27.1M | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $36.7M | +44% |
LKFN has the edge over MS on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
MS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$46B | -$42.7B |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.7B | -123% |
| Q1 2026 | -$7.1B | +$16.9B |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.4B | -120% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.3B | +$14B |
| Q2 2025 | $11.8B | +368% |
| Q1 2025 | -$24B | -650% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.8B | +$29.6B |
MS's free cash flow was −$58.3B over the past year, against −$3.7B the year before. Free cash flow isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
LKFN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +6.3K shares |
| 1 year | -2.3% | -583K shares |
| 3 years | -1.8% | -456K shares |
| 5 years | -1.6% | -397K shares |
| Available history | -2% | -521K shares |
LKFN has the edge over MS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $4.3M |
| Q1 2026 | $19.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $18.2M |
| Q3 2025 | $224,000 |
| Q2 2025 | $1.8M |
| Q1 2025 | $215,000 |
| Q4 2024 | $86,000 |
LKFN spent $45M buying back its own shares over the past year, more than ten times what it spent the year before.
MS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -3M shares |
| 1 year | -1.5% | -24M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -77M shares |
| 5 years | -14% | -246M shares |
| Available history | -4.5% | -74M shares |
MS has 1.6B diluted shares, down 1.5% from a year ago.
LKFN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.8x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -2.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
LKFN has the edge over MS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
MS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 7.8x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 7.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 8.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 8.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 8.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 8.7x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 7.9x | High |
MS's net debt is about 7.8 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 8.4 years a year ago. Net leverage isn't a meaningful measure for financial services companies like MS.
LKFN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 55.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.6 | Neutral |
LKFN's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 63 (neutral).
MS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 45.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.7 | Oversold |
MS's weekly RSI is 45 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
LKFN PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | LKFN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 14x | 13x | 6.2% above |
| PE % | 14 | 63 | 49 pts below |
LKFN has the edge over MS on valuation relative to its sector.
MS PE vs Financial Services Sector
| Metric | MS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 15x | 13x | 15% above |
| PE % | 59 | 63 | 4 pts below |
MS is trading at 15x earnings, a 15% premium to the Financial Services sector's median of 13x.
LKFN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $59.4 | 4.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $60.5 | 2.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $59.8 | 3.4% above |
| 100 week MA | $61.1 | 1.2% above |
| 200 week MA | $61.0 | 1.5% above |
LKFN has the edge over MS on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $186.5 | 1.5% above |
| 20 week MA | $203.3 | 6.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $191.9 | 1.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $164.9 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $129.3 | 46% above |
MS's trend is mixed: it's above three of its five weekly moving averages, and 46% above its 200-week average.
LKFN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $48.8 | $52.5 | +7.5% |
| 2021 | $52.5 | $78.0 | +49% |
| 2022 | $78.0 | $73.8 | -5.4% |
| 2023 | $73.8 | $65.2 | -12% |
| 2024 | $65.2 | $68.8 | +5.5% |
| 2025 | $68.8 | $58.8 | -15% |
| 2026 YTD | $58.8 | $61.8 | +5.3% |
LKFN has the edge over MS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
MS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $51.1 | $68.1 | +33% |
| 2021 | $68.1 | $99.3 | +46% |
| 2022 | $99.3 | $86.1 | -13% |
| 2023 | $86.1 | $93.3 | +8.3% |
| 2024 | $93.3 | $126.8 | +36% |
| 2025 | $126.8 | $181.9 | +43% |
| 2026 YTD | $181.9 | $189.2 | +4% |
MS has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 4% so far in 2026.