Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Stock

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) had its price objective lifted by Citigroup from $110.00 to $115.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

SF has been the subject of a number of other reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.43.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Stifel Financial stock opened at $104.14 on Friday. Stifel Financial has a fifty-two week low of $68.09 and a fifty-two week high of $119.12. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $110.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.70. The stock has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. Stifel Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction of $2,904,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 159,619 shares in the company, valued at $18,544,535.42. The trade was a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $578,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 78.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Stifel Financial by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 44,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,336,000 after buying an additional 3,887 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.