Xponance Inc. Sells 265 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Stifel Financial by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 39.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 46,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,857,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 0.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 2.7% during the third quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Stifel Financial stock opened at $78.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.90 and its 200 day moving average is $69.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $54.81 and a 52-week high of $79.23.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 12.39%. Stifel Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.18%.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.