Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $91.1481.

SF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Friday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF opened at $69.42 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.29. Stifel Financial has a 12-month low of $61.21 and a 12-month high of $89.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51 and a beta of 1.00.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 18.76% and a net margin of 15.34%.The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Stifel Financial will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SF. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 1,162.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 106.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 128,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,349,000 after acquiring an additional 59,662 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 31,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,425,000 after acquiring an additional 10,771 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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.