Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 196,000 Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 196,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,675,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 5.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 1,162.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 106.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 86.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 128,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,349,000 after acquiring an additional 59,662 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 31,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after purchasing an additional 10,771 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Stifel Financial stock opened at $81.31 on Monday. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $67.81 and a 12-month high of $89.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.99.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.09. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 16.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SF shares. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryam S. Brown sold 4,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,736.80. This trade represents a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.