Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 927,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 78,741 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.91% of Stifel Financial worth $98,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $111.38 on Wednesday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $120.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $109.99 and a 200 day moving average of $101.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is currently 26.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

Stifel Financial Corp., a financial services and bank holding company, provides retail and institutional wealth management, and investment banking services to individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other.