Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $105.00. TD Cowen currently has a hold rating on the stock. Stifel Financial traded as high as $104.80 and last traded at $103.95, with a volume of 73779 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $101.22.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded Stifel Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SF. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 1,818.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 27.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $91.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.93.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 35.67%.

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.