Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Sets New 52-Week High at $80.64

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $80.64 and last traded at $80.29, with a volume of 117171 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $79.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $75.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25 and a beta of 1.18.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 11.34% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Stifel Financial news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $1,887,763.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 580.5% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 10.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 115,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,089,000 after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 21.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 97.5% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stifel Financial

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.