Zacks Research Upgrades Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) to Strong-Buy

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $368.00 to $386.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $398.00 price objective on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Trading Down 5.1%

Shares of NYSE:PIPR opened at $341.47 on Tuesday. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52 week low of $202.91 and a 52 week high of $380.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $352.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.04. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53.

Piper Sandler Companies’s stock is set to split on Tuesday, March 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, February 6th. The newly minted shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, March 23rd.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $2.16. The business had revenue of $635.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.52 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.80 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 3,000 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.21, for a total value of $1,008,630.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 53,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,006,735.18. The trade was a 5.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Katherine Patricia Clune sold 1,367 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.69, for a total transaction of $443,851.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 10,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,384,893.25. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,767 shares of company stock valued at $2,937,921. 2.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Piper Sandler Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Piper Sandler Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in Piper Sandler Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 72.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Piper Sandler Companies Company Profile

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.