B. Riley Financial (NASDAQ:RILY) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of B. Riley Financial (NASDAQ:RILY – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the asset manager’s stock.

B. Riley Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:RILY opened at $29.78 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.05 and its 200-day moving average is $42.07. B. Riley Financial has a 1-year low of $28.06 and a 1-year high of $73.10. The company has a current ratio of 3.95, a quick ratio of 5.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.15. The stock has a market cap of $851.11 million, a P/E ratio of -4.92 and a beta of 1.83.

B. Riley Financial (NASDAQ:RILY – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The asset manager reported ($1.89) EPS for the quarter. B. Riley Financial had a negative return on equity of 21.39% and a negative net margin of 17.46%. The business had revenue of $326.81 million for the quarter.

B. Riley Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.43%. B. Riley Financial’s payout ratio is -66.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Bryant R. Riley purchased 12,963 shares of B. Riley Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.87 per share, for a total transaction of $387,204.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,595,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $197,011,497.97. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Bryant R. Riley purchased 12,963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.87 per share, for a total transaction of $387,204.81. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 6,595,631 shares in the company, valued at $197,011,497.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Bryant R. Riley purchased 6,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.29 per share, for a total transaction of $188,459.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,219,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,607,497.91. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 102,096 shares of company stock valued at $3,693,399 in the last three months. Insiders own 27.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of B. Riley Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RILY. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of B. Riley Financial by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,651,003 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $118,023,000 after purchasing an additional 21,206 shares in the last quarter. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC lifted its stake in B. Riley Financial by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC now owns 1,193,441 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $40,816,000 after buying an additional 22,329 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of B. Riley Financial by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,142,191 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $50,849,000 after buying an additional 32,189 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of B. Riley Financial by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 638,960 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,446,000 after buying an additional 12,973 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of B. Riley Financial by 8,278.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 460,835 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $15,761,000 after acquiring an additional 455,335 shares in the last quarter. 45.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About B. Riley Financial

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B. Riley Financial, Inc provides financial services and solutions to the capital raising and financial advisory needs of public and private firms. It operates through the following segments: Capital Markets, Auction and Liquidation, Financial Consulting, Principal Investments-United Online and magicJack, Brands, and Corporate and Other.