Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Separately, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th.

Piper Sandler Companies Price Performance

PIPR stock opened at $301.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17 and a beta of 1.43. Piper Sandler Companies has a 1 year low of $162.50 and a 1 year high of $351.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $322.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $309.05.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.04. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 10.84%. The business had revenue of $359.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.07 million. As a group, analysts expect that Piper Sandler Companies will post 11.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,558,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 1.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 205,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 307.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,174,000 after purchasing an additional 24,388 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $624,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 63.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 21,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,101,000 after buying an additional 8,337 shares in the last quarter. 72.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies operates as an investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States and internationally. It offers investment banking services and institutional sales, trading, and research services for various equity and fixed income products; advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt private placements, and debt and restructuring advisory; raises capital through equity and debt financings; underwrites municipal issuances; and municipal financial advisory and loan placement services, as well as various over-the-counter derivative products.