Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Short Interest Up 48.1% in March

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,910,000 shares, an increase of 48.1% from the February 28th total of 1,290,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 754,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 3.2 %

Stifel Financial stock traded down $3.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $93.92. The stock had a trading volume of 817,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,990. The firm has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.66 and a 200 day moving average of $105.27. Stifel Financial has a 52-week low of $73.51 and a 52-week high of $120.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SF. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 23.3% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,784,000 after purchasing an additional 7,615 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $274,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 6.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 54,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,138,000 after buying an additional 3,112 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 28.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $356,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.71.

About Stifel Financial

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.