JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 45.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 299,261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,341 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.29% of Stifel Financial worth $31,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

NYSE SF opened at $78.38 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.26. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $73.27 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.00.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.46 dividend. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SF shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $117.86.

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.