Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $182.1667.

A number of research analysts recently commented on RJF shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on Raymond James Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $157.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.97. Raymond James Financial has a 1-year low of $117.57 and a 1-year high of $177.66. The company has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.54 dividend. This is an increase from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total value of $21,321,584.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Raymond James Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Raymond James Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Raymond James Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm’s core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.