Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Strong-Buy”

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on SF. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Stifel Financial stock opened at $79.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.36. Stifel Financial has a one year low of $54.81 and a one year high of $79.40.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 11.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In related news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,125,150.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at $4,125,150.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 97.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 336.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

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.