Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Shares Sold by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 897,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,479 shares during the period. Stifel Financial accounts for approximately 1.0% of GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $112,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 12,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SF shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.15.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF opened at $71.42 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.08 and a 200-day moving average of $78.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $62.90 and a 1-year high of $89.83.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.46%.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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.