Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten investment 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 company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $153.82.

RJF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Raymond James from $198.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Raymond James from $176.00 to $143.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Raymond James from $149.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total value of $498,188.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,677,203.23. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 164.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 198 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Performance

NYSE RJF opened at $153.04 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $138.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.38. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $174.32. The company has a market capitalization of $31.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 14.06%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.25%.

About Raymond James

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.