Allianz Asset Management GmbH Increases Stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF)

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) by 187.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 67.7% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 123.6% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 2.7%

SF stock opened at $111.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.97. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $73.27 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The company has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52 and a beta of 1.11.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.93% and a net margin of 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In related news, Director Michael J. Zimmerman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.69, for a total value of $966,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 45,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,431,592.77. This represents a 17.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SF shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $102.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Stifel Financial from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.78.

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.