Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $398.00 price objective on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $368.00 to $386.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Piper Sandler Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PIPR opened at $329.26 on Monday. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $202.91 and a fifty-two week high of $380.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $351.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $340.31. The stock has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.53.

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

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

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, 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 completion of 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katherine Patricia Clune sold 1,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.69, for a total transaction of $443,851.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,425 shares in the company, valued at $3,384,893.25. The trade was a 11.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,007 shares of company stock valued at $4,777,109. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 90 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 72.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.