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

Shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.1481.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SF shares. Zacks Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Stifel Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stifel Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Serenity Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Serenity Investment Advisors now owns 3,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 260,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,224,000 after buying an additional 71,050 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 213,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,800,000 after buying an additional 71,258 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 11,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 4,093 shares during the period. Finally, FinArc Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,109,000. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 2.8%

NYSE SF opened at $70.62 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $75.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.53. Stifel Financial has a 12 month low of $61.21 and a 12 month high of $89.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.05. 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 results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Stifel Financial will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.46%.

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.