Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $110.00. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Stifel Financial traded as high as $96.89 and last traded at $96.47, with a volume of 37831 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $95.02.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered Stifel Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $101.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.50.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Advisors Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,600,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $649,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth $2,251,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth $66,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $87.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.90. The firm has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 1.09.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Stifel Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.18%.

About Stifel Financial

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.