Stifel Financial Corporation $SF Stock Position Decreased by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) by 44.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,389 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SF. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $236,000. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $442,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $277,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 97.7% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 77,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,716,000 after purchasing an additional 38,342 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on SF shares. TD Cowen lowered 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. Zacks Research raised Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.15.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 2.9%

Stifel Financial stock opened at $71.38 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.00. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.88 and a 12-month high of $89.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.34 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 26.46%.

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.