Cerity Partners LLC Takes Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 97.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 580.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. In other 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Stifel Financial stock opened at $79.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.18. 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 Corp. has a 1 year low of $54.81 and a 1 year high of $79.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.43.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.13). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 earnings per share 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 given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 38.18%.

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.