Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Separately, Wolfe Research raised Piper Sandler Companies from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $339.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $312.50.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PIPR opened at $351.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63 and a beta of 1.45. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $202.91 and a fifty-two week high of $374.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.57.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.96. The company had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $349.40 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 13.18%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from Piper Sandler Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.71, for a total transaction of $2,589,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 53,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,337,260.18. This represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan J. Doyle sold 3,536 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.84, for a total value of $1,120,346.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 132,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,111,204.40. The trade was a 2.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,136 shares of company stock worth $8,380,342 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PIPR. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.4% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 58.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 156,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,821,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies operates as an investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States and internationally. It offers investment banking services and institutional sales, trading, and research services for various equity and fixed income products; advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt private placements, and debt and restructuring advisory; raises capital through equity and debt financings; underwrites municipal issuances; and municipal financial advisory and loan placement services, as well as various over-the-counter derivative products.