California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 2,480 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,480 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $20,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Stifel Financial by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SF. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.86.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 10.9 %

Shares of Stifel Financial stock opened at $86.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $103.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78 and a beta of 1.08. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $73.51 and a 1 year high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.46 dividend. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

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.