4,096 Shares in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Acquired by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SF. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth $265,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $1,543,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 268.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 6,411 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total value of $2,904,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 159,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SF. Citigroup boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.57.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of SF opened at $111.52 on Friday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $64.58 and a 52 week high of $119.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.