Insider Selling: Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Insider Sells $49,724.00 in Stock

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) insider David Rubulotta sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.31, for a total transaction of $49,724.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,315.52. This represents a 28.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SF traded up $4.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $128.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,054,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,328. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.27 and a 52 week high of $134.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $127.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.00. The stock has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Stifel Financial shares are going to split before the market opens on Friday, February 27th. The 3-2 split was announced on Tuesday, January 27th. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Thursday, February 26th.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.15. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 15.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. Stifel Financial’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 31.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.3% during the second quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,085 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 8.6% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 1.8% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.18.

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.