Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America started coverage on Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $368.00 to $386.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $398.00 price objective on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PIPR stock opened at $321.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.53. Piper Sandler Companies has a one year low of $202.91 and a one year high of $380.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $352.41 and its 200 day moving average is $340.06.

Piper Sandler Companies’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, March 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, February 6th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, March 23rd.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $2.16. The business had revenue of $635.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $516.52 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 22.50% and a net margin of 14.77%.The company’s revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.80 EPS.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Katherine Patricia Clune sold 1,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.69, for a total value of $443,851.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,384,893.25. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.60, for a total transaction of $1,485,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,081,180.80. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,767 shares of company stock worth $2,937,921. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,128,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,954,000 after acquiring an additional 17,964 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 714,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,940,000 after purchasing an additional 20,232 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,402,000 after purchasing an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 294,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,087,000 after purchasing an additional 17,694 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 279,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,696,000 after purchasing an additional 29,035 shares during the period. 72.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Piper Sandler Companies

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.