Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on SF. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:SF opened at $96.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $109.00 and a 200-day moving average of $103.99. Stifel Financial has a 52 week low of $72.78 and a 52 week high of $120.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. Analysts predict that Stifel Financial will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 29.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 41,171 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $2,759,000. Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 69,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,507,000 after acquiring an additional 9,396 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 4,308.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,595 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.