Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.1333.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Stifel Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Stifel Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $92.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stifel Financial news, insider David Rubulotta sold 600 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.87, for a total value of $49,724.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,315.52. The trade was a 28.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 184,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,876,000 after buying an additional 44,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 12.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,368,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,018,000 after buying an additional 156,877 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $35,576,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,047,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 127.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 29,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after acquiring an additional 16,616 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of SF opened at $70.26 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $81.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.84. Stifel Financial has a 12-month low of $48.85 and a 12-month high of $89.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.13.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.10. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Stifel Financial’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.69%.

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.