Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.91 and last traded at $172.00, with a volume of 65509 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $170.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Raymond James currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.09.

Raymond James Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.20 and a 200-day moving average of $137.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Raymond James news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 66,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,269,000 after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 52,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,503,000 after buying an additional 12,435 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 31,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,918,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Company Profile

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.