Short Interest in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Declines By 17.0%

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 4,041,498 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the February 26th total of 4,870,686 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,346,384 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SF traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $73.87. 1,692,635 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,494,235. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Stifel Financial has a 52 week low of $48.85 and a 52 week high of $89.83.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $99.33 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $93.33 to $103.33 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group set a $100.00 price target on Stifel Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.13.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other news, insider David Rubulotta sold 600 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.87, for a total transaction of $49,724.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,488 shares in the company, valued at $123,315.52. This trade represents a 28.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SF. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 12,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter valued at $32,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 2,383.3% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

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.