Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on SF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on Stifel Financial in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.90.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of SF opened at $83.08 on Friday. Stifel Financial has a twelve month low of $67.81 and a twelve month high of $89.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 19.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Stifel Financial will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In other news, Director Maryam S. Brown sold 4,700 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,736.80. The trade was a 45.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SF. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Stifel Financial by 94.8% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,893,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $362,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408,347 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $172,446,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,403,000 after acquiring an additional 890,810 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 58.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,875,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $138,637,000 after acquiring an additional 693,437 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,284,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,883,000 after purchasing an additional 433,341 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm has grown into a full‐service brokerage and investment banking organization serving individual investors, corporations and institutions. Through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company delivers a broad array of financial products and services backed by research‐driven insights.

The firm’s main business activities are organized into two core segments: Private Client Group and Institutional Group.