Signaturefd LLC Increases Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 234 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SF. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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. raised its position in 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 purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $139,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SF shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. 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 report 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 report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $88.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at $6,687,484.30. 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 firm’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 directly owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.52% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $79.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.87. Stifel Financial Corp. has a one year low of $54.81 and a one year high of $81.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.13). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. Stifel Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.18%.

Stifel Financial Profile

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.