Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Holdings in Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF) by 51.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,616,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 890,810 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.71% of Stifel Financial worth $193,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 23,449 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,936,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Stifel Financial by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 3,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $80.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 1.01. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 12 month low of $67.81 and a 12 month high of $89.83. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $73.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.83.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.09. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 19.32% and a net margin of 16.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 26.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Stifel Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.67.

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.