Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $118.33 and last traded at $117.98, with a volume of 63008 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $116.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SF shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.17.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $103.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.14.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released 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 return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction of $2,904,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 159,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 1,818.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 388.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

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.