Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.1818.

A number of research firms have weighed in on SF. JMP Securities upped their target price on Stifel Financial from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen lowered Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $121.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 2,727.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,326,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $241,468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243,961 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the second quarter worth $143,377,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter valued at $56,126,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,451,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $391,674,000 after purchasing an additional 419,038 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 206.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 563,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,931,000 after purchasing an additional 379,817 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.7%

Stifel Financial stock opened at $130.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $126.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.91. Stifel Financial has a 52 week low of $73.27 and a 52 week high of $134.74.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 14.95%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 32.51%.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full‐service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research‐driven insights.

The firm’s main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.