Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of SF opened at $79.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.96 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.94 and a 200-day moving average of $69.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Stifel Financial has a 52 week low of $54.81 and a 52 week high of $79.40.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 11.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 38.18%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $2,713,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $1,887,763.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $2,713,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Stifel Financial by 0.3% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,802,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,172,000 after buying an additional 8,198 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Stifel Financial by 187.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,220,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,445,000 after buying an additional 1,448,068 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $84,369,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Stifel Financial by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,208,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,539,000 after buying an additional 6,645 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 77.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,728,000 after purchasing an additional 518,163 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

Stifel Financial Corp., a financial services and bank holding company, provides retail and institutional wealth management, and investment banking services to individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other.