Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Sunday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $398.00 target price on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered Piper Sandler Companies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $368.00 to $386.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Monday, January 26th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Piper Sandler Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Down 3.4%

PIPR opened at $360.14 on Friday. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52 week low of $202.91 and a 52 week high of $380.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average of $352.44 and a 200-day moving average of $339.82.

Shares of Piper Sandler Companies are set to split on the morning of Tuesday, March 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, February 6th. The newly created shares will be distributed to shareholders after the closing bell on Monday, March 23rd.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $2.16. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 22.50%. The company had revenue of $635.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.52 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.80 EPS. Piper Sandler Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Piper Sandler Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Piper Sandler Companies

In related news, CFO Katherine Patricia Clune sold 1,367 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.69, for a total value of $443,851.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,384,893.25. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $336.21, for a total transaction of $1,008,630.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 53,558 shares in the company, valued at $18,006,735.18. This represents a 5.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,767 shares of company stock worth $2,937,921 over the last ninety days. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co purchased a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.