Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.06 EPS

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Stifel Financial’s conference call:

• Record Q1 results with total net revenue of $1.48B (+18% YoY; +15% excluding the SIA gain), EPS $1.48 GAAP / $1.45 non‑GAAP, and a firm‑wide pre‑tax margin >22% (institutional margin ~20%, up ~1,300 bps YoY).
• Business momentum across franchises — Global Wealth Management posted a record $932M in net revenue (client assets $539B, fee‑based $220B) and Institutional delivered record investment banking ($341M) with strong advisory pipelines and management reiterating up to $4B of full‑year asset growth.
• Net interest income missed the midpoint of guidance (≈$3M below consensus) due to weaker non‑bank corporate interest and securities lending, and Q2 NII is guided to $280–$290M reflecting slower loan growth late in the quarter.
• Management highlighted macro/geopolitical risks (Middle East energy, widening credit spreads, rate uncertainty) but said Stifel’s direct exposure to headline credit issues is limited (software loans ≈$500M on a $43B balance sheet; CLO holdings ≈$6.8B, ~60%+ AAA) and capital is strong (T1 leverage 11.4% with ≈$560M excess), while share repurchases continue.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE SF traded up $0.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $78.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 161,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,506,811. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.70. Stifel Financial has a 1-year low of $55.48 and a 1-year high of $89.83.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $92.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $93.33 to $103.33 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.15.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other Stifel Financial news, insider David Rubulotta sold 600 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $123,315.52. The trade was a 28.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SF. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 94.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408,347 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,284,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,883,000 after acquiring an additional 433,341 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 13.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,451,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,674,000 after acquiring an additional 419,038 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 137.3% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 670,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,013,000 after acquiring an additional 388,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 206.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 563,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,931,000 after acquiring an additional 379,817 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Stifel Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Stifel Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat — Stifel reported Q1 EPS above consensus (roughly $1.45–$1.48), with strong year-over-year profit improvement and expanded net income. Zacks: Q1 earnings and revenues top estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Firm reiterated growth targets and provided operating guidance — Stifel outlined a Q2 net interest income range ($280M–$290M) and kept its up-to-$4B full-year bank asset growth guide, which supports forward revenue visibility. Seeking Alpha: Q2 NII range and asset growth guide
• Positive Sentiment: Record/strong revenue trends — the company posted record or near-record revenue levels and investment banking strength that underpinned the earnings beat. TipRanks: Stifel posts record revenue
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials available — investors can review the earnings call transcript and slide deck for more detail on segment performance and risk commentary. Seeking Alpha: Q1 earnings call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer/comparative analysis exists — recent write-ups compare Stifel vs. larger peers (e.g., Bank of America), useful for benchmarking margins, scale and capital deployment. American Banking News: BAC vs SF analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Zacks Research cut Stifel from “hold” to “strong sell,” adding immediate downward pressure on sentiment and potentially on flows. TickerReport: Zacks downgrades Stifel
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to mixed message — several market reports note the stock slipped despite the EPS beat because revenue was slightly below some analysts’ estimates and management emphasized macro risks and a March dealmaking snag. Benzinga: Stock slips despite Q1 double beat MarketBeat: Q1 results and revenue details

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.