Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $116.29.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SF. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stifel Financial

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 123.6% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF stock opened at $96.51 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $104.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 1.08. Stifel Financial has a 1 year low of $73.51 and a 1 year high of $120.64.

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

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 29.49%.

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.