Insider Selling: Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Director Sells $372,240.00 in Stock

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Director Maryam Brown sold 4,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total transaction of $372,240.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,729 shares in the company, valued at $453,736.80. The trade was a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of SF traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.76. The stock had a trading volume of 234,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,915. The company has a market cap of $12.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.70. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $67.81 and a 1-year high of $89.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.09. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 19.32%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Stifel Financial’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 24.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 35,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 18.1% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 26,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after buying an additional 4,043 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 287.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 490,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,240,000 after acquiring an additional 364,013 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Stifel Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 18,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,927 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on SF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on Stifel Financial in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.67.

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.