Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong sell rating. The company traded as low as $62.61 and last traded at $62.8560, with a volume of 20,086 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.90.

PIPR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $80.00 target price on shares of Piper Sandler Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, August 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PIPR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 573,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,967 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.0% in the second quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 420,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,441,000 after acquiring an additional 4,036 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the second quarter valued at $13,753,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the second quarter valued at $9,445,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 27.8% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 41,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after acquiring an additional 9,044 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Up 0.3%

The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $72.15 and a 200 day moving average of $76.69.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 14.51% and a return on equity of 21.92%. The company had revenue of $491.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $445.28 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Piper Sandler Companies will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Piper Sandler Companies’s payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) is a U.S.-based investment bank and financial services firm that provides capital markets and advisory services to corporations, financial institutions, public entities and other organizations. Its activities include investment banking, mergers and acquisitions advisory, equity and debt offerings, private placements, restructuring advice and strategic consulting.

The company also offers institutional securities services, including equity and fixed-income research, sales and trading, and municipal finance capabilities.