Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Short Interest Down 21.7% in January

Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,959,906 shares, a decline of 21.7% from the December 31st total of 2,503,361 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 787,670 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 787,670 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the second quarter valued at $243,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 184,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,876,000 after purchasing an additional 44,844 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $606,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,368,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $142,018,000 after buying an additional 156,877 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Stifel Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $35,576,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SF traded down $1.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $123.48. The stock had a trading volume of 1,385,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 813,831. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.13. Stifel Financial has a one year low of $73.27 and a one year high of $134.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.72.

Stifel Financial shares are set to split on the morning of Friday, February 27th. The 3-2 split was announced on Tuesday, January 27th. The newly minted shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, February 26th.

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 15.80%. 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 $2.23 EPS. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $138.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $133.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group set a $150.00 price target on Stifel Financial and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $149.00 price target on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.18.

About Stifel Financial

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.