Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Northland Securities raised Piper Sandler Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, January 26th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $96.25 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Piper Sandler Companies from $115.25 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.31.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:PIPR opened at $83.29 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.39. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52 week low of $53.25 and a 52 week high of $95.07. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.48.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $2.16. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 21.85% and a net margin of 14.77%.The company had revenue of $635.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. Piper Sandler Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Piper Sandler Companies Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.

Insider Transactions at Piper Sandler Companies

In other news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 20,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total value of $1,839,187.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 11,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,016,467.04. This represents a 64.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1,440.0% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 77 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 90 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. 72.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Piper Sandler Companies Company Profile

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.