Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,118 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.07% of Stifel Financial worth $7,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 3.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 115,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 141,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,279,000 after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the third quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the third quarter valued at $34,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of SF opened at $110.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.99. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. On average, analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on SF shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.71.

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.