Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $101.00 to $108.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Stifel Financial traded as high as $96.89 and last traded at $96.47, with a volume of 37831 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $95.02.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Stifel Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Stifel Financial by 1,818.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 388.3% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.79 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $87.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.09.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 38.18%.

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.