Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SF. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 64,142.9% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 4,490 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Haven Private LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $743,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter worth $5,627,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth $11,936,000. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.6 %

SF stock opened at $96.86 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.44. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $73.51 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The company has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Stifel Financial 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.