Short Interest in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Declines By 21.7%

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,959,906 shares, a drop of 21.7% from the December 31st total of 2,503,361 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 787,670 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 787,670 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SF. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $138.00 target price on Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Stifel Financial from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $149.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $150.00 price objective on Stifel Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 12,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 2,383.3% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.14. 1,101,549 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 863,863. Stifel Financial has a 12-month low of $73.27 and a 12-month high of $134.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $127.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 1.13.

Stifel Financial’s stock is scheduled to split before the market opens on Friday, February 27th. The 3-2 split was announced on Tuesday, January 27th. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, February 26th.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.15. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. Stifel Financial’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 31.29%.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full‐service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research‐driven insights.

The firm’s main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.