Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Reaches New 12-Month High at $78.10

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $78.10 and last traded at $78.04, with a volume of 150240 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on SF shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.25.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.81 and a 200 day moving average of $67.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 39.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In other news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $2,713,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,125,150.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 54,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SF. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 113,703.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,654,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $621,889,000 after purchasing an additional 10,644,895 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,258,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $532,504,000 after acquiring an additional 89,580 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 422.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,120,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,123,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522,805 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $178,572,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,828,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $165,121,000 after acquiring an additional 466,338 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.