UBS Group Upgrades Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) to Strong-Buy

UBS Group upgraded shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.73.

Raymond James Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE RJF opened at $159.32 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $159.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $171.38. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. Raymond James’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James

In related news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total value of $198,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. Insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Raymond James

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 3,960.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Company Profile

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.