Axiom Investors LLC DE Grows Stake in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 181,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,239 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $22,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 12,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $136.00 to $92.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.15.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $71.42 on Wednesday. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.90 and a 52-week high of $89.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $75.08 and a 200 day moving average of $78.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.06. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 18.76%. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.25 EPS 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 given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio 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.