Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 276,000 shares, a drop of 19.9% from the February 13th total of 344,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 109,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Piper Sandler Companies Price Performance

Shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock traded up $5.11 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $257.90. 78,400 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,113. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23 and a beta of 1.46. Piper Sandler Companies has a 1-year low of $183.58 and a 1-year high of $351.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $274.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $294.92.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.99 by $0.81. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 11.87%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Piper Sandler Companies from $321.00 to $286.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Piper Sandler Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,063,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $618,974,000 after buying an additional 31,400 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 697,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $209,312,000 after buying an additional 102,426 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 682,430 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,680,000 after buying an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 625,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $177,395,000 after buying an additional 205,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 377,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,184,000 after buying an additional 7,344 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.