Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Grows Stock Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 316.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,991 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $7,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 27.7% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 36.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 148.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction of $2,904,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 159,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $113.87 on Monday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $68.40 and a 12 month high of $119.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $110.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.75.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on SF. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Stifel Financial from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.14.

Stifel Financial 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.