** Shares of regional lender Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida SBCF.O rise as much as 5.1%; last up 4.9% at $28.52

** SBCF late Tuesday posted a Q4 adjusted profit of 48 cents/shr topping Wall Street expectations of 33 cents/shr, according to data compiled by LSEG

** Q4 net interest income rose 4% to $115.8 mln and beat estimates of $110.7 mln, driven by a decline in the cost of deposits

** A string of rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve has eased the pressure on regional banks, as they pay out less to hold onto customer deposits

** Net interest margin - a key measure of banking profitability - expanded by 3 bps to 3.39% in Q4 from a year earlier

** Piper Sandler says the quarter was strong and should take analysts' estimates higher, but it still needs to see additional M&A or a growth inflection to see more meaningful upside in the shares

** SBCF stock dipped 3.3% in 2024

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)

((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))