Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE SF opened at $79.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $75.98 and its 200-day moving average is $69.36. The stock has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.18. Stifel Financial has a twelve month low of $54.81 and a twelve month high of $79.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 11.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Stifel Financial will post 7.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Stifel Financial

In other Stifel Financial news, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Stifel Financial news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $1,887,763.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total transaction of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 54,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stifel Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SF. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 97.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 39.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 336.2% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

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.