Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Short Interest Up 37.0% in February

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 3,114,627 shares, an increase of 37.0% from the January 29th total of 2,274,193 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,344,977 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,344,977 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In other news, insider David Rubulotta sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.87, for a total value of $49,724.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,315.52. This trade represents a 28.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SF. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Stifel Financial by 12,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 2,383.3% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citizens Jmp boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $93.33 to $103.33 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $99.33 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $92.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of 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 five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.13.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF stock traded down $0.89 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.68. 1,482,733 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,831,180. The stock has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05 and a beta of 1.13. Stifel Financial has a one year low of $48.85 and a one year high of $89.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.04.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.69%.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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.