Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Reaches New 1-Year High at $78.34

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $78.34 and last traded at $78.21, with a volume of 296375 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.19. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stifel Financial news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at $6,687,484.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,802,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $172,172,000 after purchasing an additional 8,198 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 187.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,220,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448,068 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,369,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,208,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,539,000 after acquiring an additional 6,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,728,000 after acquiring an additional 518,163 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.