Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $362.50.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PIPR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $368.00 to $386.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th.

Piper Sandler Companies Price Performance

PIPR opened at $335.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $337.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $311.40. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $202.91 and a fifty-two week high of $374.77.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $3.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.96 by $0.86. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The company had revenue of $455.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $408.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 25th. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.10%.

Insider Activity at Piper Sandler Companies

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.33, for a total value of $825,825.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 2,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $956,635.68. This trade represents a 46.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Katherine Patricia Clune sold 1,367 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.69, for a total transaction of $443,851.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,384,893.25. This represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 2.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PIPR. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter worth $647,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 9.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,662,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 18,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,675,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies operates as an investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States and internationally. It offers investment banking services and institutional sales, trading, and research services for various equity and fixed income products; advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt private placements, and debt and restructuring advisory; raises capital through equity and debt financings; underwrites municipal issuances; and municipal financial advisory and loan placement services, as well as various over-the-counter derivative products.