Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Position Trimmed by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,389 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $236,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $442,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 97.7% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 77,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,716,000 after buying an additional 38,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $278,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $71.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.00. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 52 week low of $61.88 and a 52 week high of $89.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.04.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.15.

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.