Principal Securities Inc. Boosts Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 148.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SF shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SF opened at $105.49 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.96. The firm has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 1.11. Stifel Financial Corp. has a one year low of $72.78 and a one year high of $120.64. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. Research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.49%.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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.